
DAILY CHEER 

FORALL 

TAE YEAR 



COMPILED BY 
-VIRGINIA REED 



DAILY CHEER 



FOR 



ALL THE YEAR 



Selected and arranged by 
VIRGINIA REED. 



We shall not pass this way again, 

Oh, heed the passing hours ; 
And let each day a record make, 

Of something pure and noble. 
A smiling face, a cheering word, 

Makes others 'round us happy, 
And lightens up the rugged way 

That leads us on to glory." 




PHILADELPHIA: 

GEORGE W. JACOBS & CO., 

103 South Fifteenth Street, 
1895 



T3V>sio 

■ Tf4 




<• 



Copyright 1895, by George W. Jacobs & Co. 



To 

All who would help make each day better than any 
which has preceded, this volume of selections 
is affectionately dedicated. 



January i. 



5 



Fear thou not ; for I am with thee : be not dismayed ; 
for I am thy God : I will strengthen thee ; yea, I will 
help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand 
of my righteousness. — Is. xli, 10. 

Is the work difficult? 

Jesus directs thee. 
Is the path dangerous ? 

Jesus protects thee. 
Fear not, and falter not, 

Let the word cheer thee ! 
All through the coming year 

He will be with thee. 

Frances Ridley Havergal. 

That is the way to be immovable in the midst of 
trouble, as a rock amidst the waves. When God is 
in the midst of a kingdom or city, He makes it firm 
as Mount Sion, that it cannot be removed. When He 
is in the midst of a soul, though calamities throng 
about it on all hands, and roar like the billows of the 
sea, yet there is a constant calm within, such a peace 
as the world can neither give nor take away. What 
is it but want of lodging God in the soul, and that in 
His stead the world is in men's hearts, that makes 
them shake like leaves at every blast of danger ? 

R. Leighton. 

It is distrust of God to be troubled about what is to 
come, impatience against God to be troubled with 
what is present, and anger at God to be troubled for 
what is past. 

Bishop Patrick. 



6 



January 2. 



This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from 
me, saith the Lord. — Jer. xiii, 25. 

" Disappointment — His appointment." 

Change one letter, then I see 
That the thwarting of my purpose 

Is Gcd's better choice for me. 
His appointment must be blessing, 

Tho' it may come in disguise, 
For the end from the beginning, 

Open to His wisdom lies. 

" Disappointment — His appointment." 
" No good thing will He withhold," 
From denials oft we gather 

Treasures of His love untold. 
Well He knows, each broken purpose 

Leads to fuller, deeper trust, 
And the end of all His dealings 

Proves our God is wise and just. 

Our situation and provision in this present life, as 
well as our future inheritance, are appointed by the 
only wise and righteous God ; and we should learn 
to acknowledge His goodness with thankfulness, and 
be contented with our portion, whether more or less 
abundant ; because He knows what is best for us, and 
we have far more than we deserve. The distinc- 
tions of property accord to the appointment of God, 
and must therefore be conscientiously maintained ; 
nay, so far from fraudulently or violently attempting 
to intrench on them, we must not covet anything that 
is another's, nor envy his prosperity, but rejoice in it. 
We should, indeed, in all things be more happy, did 
we more diligently obey our God. 

T. Scott. 



January 3. 



7 



Not slothful in business ; fervent in spirit ; serving 
the Lord. — Rom. xii, n. 

Can you do a good deed — do it, 

Every day perform thy part ; 
With a helping hand extended 

Live to serve, with loving heart. 

Oh ! thy life is only noble 
When you find some work to do ; 

Days for deeds are few, my brother, 
Find some work — and do it, too. 

Do you love thy brother — show it, 

Ere life's sun sinks in the west ; 
He is longing for the sunshine 

That has made thy heart so blest. 

Days for deeds are growing shorter, 

Who can claim another year ? 
If you mean to help another 

Do it quickly ! Christ is near. Anon. 

We can only do a deed to God by doing that deed 
for Him — only by offering ours as the hands with 
which it shall be done. Our human love for one an- 
other, and all our human help, is not less His for being 
ours. Many dear things of Providence He hands to 
His little ones by each other. And sometimes whom 
can He use but you and me ? W. C. Gannett. 

It is decreed in the providence of God that although 
the opportunities for doing good, which are in the 
power of every man, are beyond count or knowledge, 
yet the opportunity once neglected, no man by any 
self-sacrifice can atone for those who have fallen or 
suffered by his negligence. 

Juliana Horatia Ewing. 



s 



January 4. 



The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. — 
Ps. xcii 3 12. 

The wind that blows can never kill 

The tree God plants ; 
It bloweth east, it bloweth west, 
The tender leaves have little rest ; 
But any wind that blows is best. 

The tree God plants 
Strikes deeper root, grows higher still, 
Spreads wider boughs, for God's good will 

Meets all its wants. 

Lillie E. Barr. 

The degree of strength which He imparts will be 
greater or less, according to the nature of our trials. 
We have no idea how much we can endure, until the 
load is placed upon us. We know not how import- 
ant it is that we should be tried, until we have begun 
to reap the benefits, in after times. And let Christians 
remember that a barren profession is nothing worth. 
Many outward tokens may now appear which pass 
for works of righteousness, but they will be scattered 
and disappear, when the season of trial comes. Seek, 
therefore, to be " filled with the fruits of righteousness, 
which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise 
of God." Be holy. Be useful. Be steadfast. Your 
reward will begin in this life, and it will be eternal 

and unfading in the next. John N. Norton. 

» 

" Live by the day ; you will have trials and strength 
according to your need; leave to-morrow with the 
Lord. To-morrow may be eternity with you ; there- 
fore, live as on the margin of eternity, as next door 
to heaven." 



January 5. 



9 



The wicked worketh a deceitful work : but to him 
that sovveth righteousness shall be a sure reward. — 
Prov. xi, 18. 

Lying lips are abomination to the Lord : but they 
that deal truly are his delight. — Prov. xii, 22. 

Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, 
In the strife of truth with falsehood for the good or evil side. 

Lowell. 

The telling of a falsehood is like the cut of a sabre ; 
though the wound may heal, the scar will remain. 

Anon. 

I have seldom known any one who deserted truth 
in trifles, that could be trusted in matters of import- 
ance. Paley. 

False friends are like our shadows, keeping close 
to us while we walk in the sunshine, but leaving us 
the instant we cross into the shade. Bovee. 

He that is habituated to deceptions and artificialties 
in trifles, will try in vain to be true in matters of im- 
portance ; for truth is a thing of habit rather than of 
will. You cannot in any given case by any sudden 
and single effort, will to be true, if the habit of your 
life has been insincerity. F. W. Robertson. 

Falsehood is cowardice, truth is courage. 

Hosea Balloe. 



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January 6. 



Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with 
good. — Rom. xii, 21. 

He best deserves a noble crest 
Who slay s the evil that infest 
His soul within. If victor here, 
He soon will find a wider sphere. 
The world is cold to him who pleads, 
The world bows low to knightly deeds. 

Self-conquest is the greatest of victories. 

Plato. 

To conquer by the moral manifestation of the will 
is to conquer like a god. To conquer by the mani- 
festation of brute force is to conquer like a beast. 

Elihu Burritt. 

A man can do without his own approbation in much 
society, but he must make great exertions to gain it 
when he lives alone. 

Sidney Smith. 

Some say that the age of chivalry is past. The age 
of chivalry is never past, so long as there is a wrong 
left unredressed on earth, or a man or woman left to 
say, " I will redress that wrong, or spend my life in 
the attempt." The age of chivalry is never past so 
long as we have faith enough to say, " God will help 
me to redress that wrong ; or, if not me, He will help 
those that come after me, for His eternal will is to 
overcome evil with good." 

Charles Kingsley. 



January 7. 



11 



We know that all things work together for good to 
them that love God. — Rom. viii, 28. 

Ill that He blesses is our good, 

And unblest good is ill ; 
And all is right that seems most wrong, 

If it be His sweet will. 

Faber. 

Before the fruit be gathered, 
We must see the blossoms fall ; 

And the waiting-time, my brothers, 
Is the hardest time of all. 

Those who love God will find all things working 
together for their good. Everything helps them, as 
sunshine or storm, summer or winter, helps the tree. 
When the sun shines warmly, the tree opens all its 
buds and leaves and drinks in the warm air, and 
grows. When the cold storms of winter beat upon 
it, it withdraws into itself, and shuts its pores, and 
tightens its hold by the roots, and hardens. So when 
all things are pleasant in life we enjoy them gratefully, 
and expand in God's sunshine with thankful hearts. 
When disappointment and trial come we learn to be 
patient, trusting, submissive, hopeful, firm, and true, 
and that, also, is good for us. 

James Freeman Clarke. 



i2 January 8. 



The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man 
availeth much. — James v, 16. 

What wond'rous grace ! who knows its full extent ! 

A creature, dust and ashes, speaks with God ; 

Tells all his woes, enumerates his wants, 

Yea, pleads with Deity, and gains relief. 

'Tis prayer, yes, 'tis effectual, fervent prayer 

Puts dignity on worms, proves life divine, 

Makes demons tremble, breaks the darkest cloud, 

And, with a princely power, prevails with God. 

And shall this privilege become a task? 

My God forbid ! pour out Thy Spirit's grace, 

Draw me by love, and teach me how to pray. 

Yea, let Thy holy unction from above, 

Beget, extend, maintain my intercourse, 

With Father, Son, and Spirit, Israel's God, 

Until petitions are exchanged for praise. Irons. 

The tie that connects the prayer and its answer is 
a religious tie, and we are thus reminded that it is 
only when the prayer is spiritual that it can be ex- 
pected to bring with it the anticipated blessings. Nor 
should it be overlooked that God does not only answer, 
but can answer it with such an opportuneness of time, 
place, and mode that when the blessing comes it is 
as if it had dropped immediately from heaven. God 
sometimes delays the answer that it may be the more 
beneficent when it comes. The stream is made to 
turn and wind that it may receive contributions from 
every valley which it passes, and all to flow more 
largely into the bosom at last. When God's plans 
ripen slowly it is that the fruit may be the richer and 
mellower. Hence it is that the royal munificence of 
His bounty knows no limits at last. " He is able to 
do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or 
think." Tames McCosh. 



January 9. 



13 



For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your 
faults, ye shall take it patiently ? but if, when ye do 
well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is 
acceptable with God. — I Peter ii, 20. 

Live to do good * but not with thought to win 
Reward from man of any kindness done : 

Remember Him who suffered for thy sin — 
The merciful, the meek rejected One; 

When He was slain for crime of doing good, 

Canst thou expect return of gratitude ? 

Do good to all ; but while thou servest best, 
And at the greatest cost — nerve thee to bear 

(When thine own heart with anguish is opprest) 
The cruel taunt, the cold averted air, 

From lips which thou hast taught in hope to pray, 

And eyes whose sorrows thou hast wiped away. 

Do naught but good ; for such the noble strife 
Of virtue is 'gainst wrong to venture love, 

And for thy foe devote a brother's life, 
Content to wait the recompense above ; 

Brave for the truth, to fiercest insult meek ; 

In mercy strong — in vengeance only weak. 

Bethune. 

What is doing good ? It is imitating God. 

Publius Syrus. 

He is Good that does Good to others. If he suffers 
for the Good he does, he is better still ; and if he suf- 
fers from them to whom he did Good, he is arrived 
to that height of Goodness, that nothing but an in- 
crease of his suffering can add to it : if it proves his 
death, his Virtue is at its summit ; it is Heroism com- 
plete. La Bruyere. 



14 



January io. 



Be strong, and of good courage ; dread not, nor be 
dismayed. — I Chr. xxii, 13. 

Never give up ! It is wiser and better 

Always to hope than once to despair ; 
Fling off the load of doubt's cankering fetter, 

And break the dark spell of tyrannical care. 
Never give up ! or the burden may sink you : 

Providence kindly has mingled the cup, 
And in all troubles and trials bethink you, 

The watchword of life must be, " Never give up ! " 

Never give up ! 'tis the secret of glory ; 

Nothing so wise can philosophy preach : 
Think on the names that are famous in story ; 

Never give up ! 'tis the lesson they teach. 
How have men compass'd immortal achievements? 

How have they moulded the world to their will ? 
'Tis that, midst dangers, and woes, and bereavements, 

Never give up ! was their principle still. 

Anonymous. 

There is no excellence without great labor. It is 
the fiat of fate, from which no power of genius can 
absolve you. It is this capacity for high and long- 
continued exertion, this vigorous power of profound 
and searching investigation, this careering and wide- 
spreading comprehension of mind, and these long 
reaches of thought which are to enroll your names 
among the great men of the earth. Wirt. 

Be sure your labor is such as God approves, then 
let no browbeating nor ridicule of man or devil cause 
you to give up, for a crown is given to those o?ily who 
persevere unto the end. W. H. R. 



January ii. 



15 



For there is nothing covered, that shall not be 
revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. — 
Luke xii, 2. 

The brave do never shun the light ; 

Just are their thoughts, and open are their tempers ; 

Truly without disguise, they love or hate ; 

Still are they found in the fair face of day ; 

And heaven and men are judges of their actions. 

ROWE. 

The guilty soul cannot keep its own secret. It 
(the guilty conscience) betrays his discretion, it breaks 
down his courage, it conquers his prudence. 

i 

Daniel Webster. 

There is no secret in the heart which the actions do 
not disclose. The most consummate hypocrite can- 
not at all times conceal the workings of the mind. 

From the French. 

I will govern my life and my thoughts, as if the 
whole were to see the one and read the other: for 
what does it signify, to make anything a secret to my 
neighbor, when to God (who is the searcher of our 
hearts) all our privacies are open. 

Seneca. 



i6 



January 12. 



Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
world. — Matt, xxviii, 20. 

" I am with thee !" He hath said it 
In His truth and tender grace ; 
Sealed the promise grandly spoken, 
With how many a mighty token 
Of His love and faithfulness. 

He is with thee ! In thy dwelling 
Shielding thee from fear or ill ; 

All thy burdens kindly bearing, 

For thy dear ones gently caring, 
Guarding, keeping, blessing still. 

He is with thee ! With thee always, 

All the nights and all the days ; 
Never failing, never frowning, 
With His loving kindness crowning, 
Turning all thy life to praise. 

Anonymous. 

There is no father, no brother so pitiful and so com- 
passionate as He who calls you His child. Whatever 
else may fail, be sure that His everlasting love will 
not fail. He is with you in your struggle against 
sins, in your search for truth, your woes and griefs 
and loneliness and trials. All your hope, all your 
patience, all your regard for what is excellent and im- 
perishable, come from Him. And as He has given 
you your capacity for His friendship and His likeness, 
He will train you and guide you to Himself if you 
are submissive and obedient. 

Horatio N. Powers. 



January 13. 



17 



Let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him. — 
II Sam. xv, 26. 

Christ never asks of us such heavy labor 
As leaves no time for resting at His feet ; 

The waiting attitude of expectation 

He ofttimes counts a service most complete. 

He sometimes wants our ear — our rapt attention, 
That He some sweetest secret may impart. 

? Tis always in the time of deepest stillness 

That heart finds deepest fellowship with heart. 

We sometimes wonder why our Lord doth place us 
Within a sphere so narrow, so obscure, 

That nothing we call work can find an entrance ; 
There's only room to suffer — to endure ! 

Well. God loves patience ! Souls that dwell in stillness, 
Doing the little things, or resting quite, 

May just as perfectly fulfill their mission, 
Be just as useful in the Father's sight, 

As they who grapple with some giant evil, 
Clearing a path that every eye may see ; 

Oar Saviour cares for cheerful acquiescence, 
Rather than for a busy ministry. 

Then seek to please Him, whatso'er He bids thee_, 

Whether to do, to suffer, or lie still ; 
'Twill matter little by what path He led us, 

If in it all we sought to do His will. 

Let God do with me what He will ; anything He 
will ; whatever it be, it will be either heaven itself or 
some beginning of it. 

Wm. Mouxtford. 



i8 



January 14. 



The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of 
trouble ; and He knoweth them that trust in Him, — 
Nahum i, 7. 

I like the man who faces what he must 
With step triumphant, and a heart of cheer ; 
Who fights the daily battle without fear ; 

Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trust 

That God is God : that somehow, true and just 
His plans work out for mortals ; not a tear 
Is shed when fortune, which the world holds dear, 

Falls from his grasp : better, with love, a crust 

Than living in dishonor ; envies not, 
Nor loses faith in man ; but does his best, 

Nor ever murmurs at his humbler lot, 

But with a smile and words of hope, gives zest 

To every toiler : he alone is great, 

Who by a life heroic conquers fate. 

Sarah K. Bolton. 

Grandeur of character lies wholly in force of soul — 
that is in the force of thought, moral principle and 
love ; . . . 

The greatest man is he who chooses the Right with 
invincible resolution, who resists the sorest tempta- 
tions from within and without, who bears the heaviest 
burdens cheerfully, who is calmest in storms and most 
fearless under menance and frowns, whose reliance on 
the truth, on virtue, on God, is most unfaltering. 

Wm. E. Channing. 

Make the Best of it. — You would live longer 

and happier if you would only be quiet and fretless. 
The man who takes life as it comes and makes the 
best of it is the one who gets most out of it. 



January 15. 



19 



For with Thee is the fountain of life ; in Thy light 
shall we see light. — Ps. xxxvi, 9. 

Are you shining for Jesus, dear one, 

Shining just everywhere, 
Not only in easy places, 

Not only just here or there? 
Shining in happy gatherings, 

Where all are loved and known ? 
Shining where all are strangers ? 

Shining when quite alone ? 
Shining at home and making 

True sunshine all around ? 
Shining abroad, and faithful — ■ 

Perhaps among faithless found. 

Forever the sun is pouring his gold 
On a hundred worlds that beg and borrow ; 

His warmth he squanders on summits cold. 
His wealth, on the homes of want and sorrow. 

To withhold his largess of precious light 
Is to bury himself in eternal night : 

To give is to live. 

Anon. 

As the rays come from the sun, and yet are not the 
sun, even so our love and pity, though they are not 
God, but merely a poor, weak image and reflection 
of Him, yet from Him alone they come. If there is 
mercy in our hearts, it comes from the fountain of 
mercy. If there is light of love in us, it is a ray 
from the full sun of His love. 

Charles Kingsley. 

Good deeds will shine as the stars in heaven. 

Thomas Chalmers. 



20 



January 16. 



Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain 
path. — Ps. xxvii, n. 

Being in doubt, I say, 

Lord, make it plain ! 
Which is the truly safe way? 

Which would be vain? 
I am not wise to know, 
Nor sure of foot to go ; 

My blind eyes cannot see 

What is so clear to Thee. 
, Lord, make it clear to me ! 

Anna B. Warner. 

If God requires anything of us, we have no right 
to draw back under the pretext that we are liable to 
commit some fault in obeying. It is better to obey 
imperfectly than not at all. Perhaps you ought to 
rebuke some one dependent on you, but you are 
silent for fear of giving way to vehemence — or you 
avoid the society of -certain persons, because they 
make you cross and impatient. How are you to 
attain self-control, if you shun all occasions of prac- 
ticing it ? Is not such self-choosing a greater fault 
than those into which you fear to fall ? Aim at a 
steady mind to do right, go wherever duty calls you, 
and believe firmly that God will forgive the faults 
that take our weakness by surprise in spite of our 
sincere desire to please Him. 

Jean Nicolas Grou. 



January 17. 



21 



He maketh me to iie down in green pastures : He 
leadeth me beside the still waters. — Ps. xxiii, 2. 



But where the Shepherd leads His flock, 

They need not fear to tread ; 
His hand will guide, His arm sustain, 

And raise the drooping head, 
Then when they cross the cold dark stream, 

He will the current stem, 
And safely will they reach their home, 

Because " He leadeth" them. 

E. A. L. Knight. 



Beside the still waters ! O infinite peace ! 
When God leadeth me there, my troubles all cease ; 
And my feet, by the thorns of life's wilderness torn, 
Are bathed in the dews that are wept by the morn. 

Beside the still waters, shut in by God's hills, 
The exquisite sense of protection that fills 
My bosom is born of the perils o'erpast ; 
As He led me at first, so He leads me at last ! 

W. C. Richards. 



Trust Him implicitly, submit to Him cheerfully, 
and you will find that all shall be well ; that more grace 
will be given you ; that the heavier the trial the larger 
will be the blessed measure of the strength. The 
Shepherd is leading you in the right way to His own 
blessed fold. Leave it all to Him. 

Alexander McKenzie. 



22 



January 18. 



Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted 
among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. — 
Ps. xlvi, 10. 

When vexing words are said to you, 

Smile, and keep bravely still ; 
Annoying tongues will have their way, 

Let you say what you will ; 
Then shut your lips, speak not a word, — 

This is the wisest plan, 
And silence hurts tormenters more 

Than any answer can. 

Youth's Companion. 

Only in the sacredness of inward silence does the 
soul truly meet the secret-hiding God. The strength 
of resolve, which afterward shapes life and mixes 
itself with action, is the fruit of those sacred, solitary 
moments when we meet God alone. 

F. W. Robertson. 

To be silent, to suffer, to pray, when we cannot act, 
is acceptable to God. A disappointment, a contra- 
diction, a harsh word received and endured as in His 
presence, is worth more than a long prayer. 

Fenelon. 

If God is spending work upon a Christian, let him 
be still and know that it is God. And if he wants 
work, he will find it there — in the being still. 

Henry Drummond. 



January 19. 



23 



But I say unto you, That every idle word that men 
shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day 
of judgment. — Matt, xii, 36. 

You may not see, I may not know, 

The deeds to which our kind words grow ; 

But they are never lost, I know. 

Be not discouraged because the sphere of action 
seems narrow, and the influence limited ; for every 
word and act that a human being sends forth lives for- 
ever. It is a spiritual seed cast into the wide field of 
opinion. Its results are too infinite for human calcu- 
lation. It will appear and reappear through all time, 
always influencing the destiny of the human race for 
good or evil. L. Maria Child. 

Every person is responsible for all the good within 
the scope of his abilities, and for no more, and none 
can tell whose sphere is the largest. 

Gail Hamilton. 

It is well to think well ; it is divine to act well. 

Horace Mann. 

Thought and theory must precede all action that 
moves to salutary purposes. Yet action is nobler in 
itself than either thought or theory. 

William Wordsworth. 



24 



January 20. 



Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters. — Isa. 
xxxii, 20. 

Sow ye beside all waters, 

Where the dew of heaven may fall ; 
Ye shall reap, if ye be not weary, 

For the Spirit breathes o'er all. 
Sow though the thorns may wound thee, 

One wore the thorns for thee ; 
And though the cold world scorn thee, 

Patient and hopeful be. 
Sow ye beside all waters, 

With a blessing and a prayer ; 
Name Him whose hand upholds thee, » 

And sow thou everywhere. 

Lyra Anglicana. 

" It is not the things we have done here, 
But the things we have left undone 
That will give us a bitter heartache 
At the setting of the sun I" 

The work of the Sower is given to each of us in 
this world, and we fall short of our duty when we let 
those with whom we are brought in contact leave us 
without having given them a kind thought, or pious 
impression. Nothing is so sad as the cry, " I am use- 
less !" happily none need ever be so. A kind word, 
a gentle act, a modest demeanor, a loving smile, are 
as so many seeds that we can scatter every moment 
of our lives, and which will always spring up and bear 
fruit. Happy are those, who have many around them 
. . . they are rich in opportunities, and may sow plen- 
teously. Gold Dust. 



January 21. 



Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it. — Jer. x, 19. 

Man may trouble and distress me, 

'Twill but drive me to Thy breast , 
Life with trials hard may press me, 

Heaven will give me sweeter rest, 
Oh, 'tis not in grief to harm me, 

While Thy love is left to me , 
Oh, 'twere not in joy to charm me, 

Were that joy unmixed with Thee. 

H. F. Lyte. 

We cannot say this or that trouble shall not befall, 
yet we may, by help of the Spirit, say, nothing that 
doth befall shall make me do that which is unworthy 
of a Christian. R. Sibbes. 

God pledges Himself that there will not be one 
redundant thorn in the believer's chaplet of suffering. 
No burden too heavy will be laid on him, and no 
sacrifice too great exacted from him. Whenever the 
" need be " has accomplished its end, then the rod is 
removed, the chastisement suspended, the furnace 
quenched. Dr. Macduff. 

The Lord can prevent trouble, or remove trouble ; 
but what is best of all, He can sanctity troubles, mak- 
ing them real blessings, and that is what He out of 
infinite love generally chooses to do. 

Christian s Pocket-book. 



26 



January 22. 



Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain 
thee • He shall never suffer the righteous to be 
moved. — Ps. lv, 22. 

To every one on earth 
God gives a burden, to be carried down 
The road that lies between the cross and crown , 

No lot is wholly free, 

He giveth one to thee 

Thy burden is God's gift, 
And it will make the bearer calm and strong ; 
Yet, lest it press too heavily and long 

He says, " Cast it on me, 

And it shall easy be." 

And those who heed His voice 
And seek to give it back in trustful prayer, 
Have quiet hearts that never can despair , 

And hope lights up the way 

Upon the darkest day. 

Take courage, and turn your troubles, which are 
without remedy, into material for spiritual progress. 
Often turn to our Lord, who is watching you, poor 
frail little being as you are, amid your labors and dis- 
tractions. He sends you help and blesses your afflic- 
tion. This thought should enable you to bear your 
troubles patiently and gently, for love of Him who 
only allows you to be tried for your own good. Raise 
your heart continually to God, seek His aid, and let 
the foundation stone of your consolation be your 
happiness in being His. All vexations and annoy- 
ances will be comparatively unimportant while you 
know that you have such a Friend, such a Stay, such 
a Refuge. May God be ever in your heart 

Francis de Sales. 



January 23. 



27 



And every one that hath forsaken houses, or 
brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or 
children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive 
a hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting lite. — - 
Matt, xix, 29. 

By ways not understood, 
Out of each dark vicissitude, 
God brings us compensating good. 

For Faith is perfected by fears, 

And souls renew their youth with years, 

And Love looks into heaven through tears 

Phcebe Cary. 

Never any man forsook anything for his Master's 
sake, but even in this life he hath a fulfillment of the 
promise in some unlooked-for compensation ; not, it 
may be, alike in kind, but full of as deep a joy. 

John N. Norton. 

And yet the compensations of calamity are made 
apparent to the understanding also, after long inter- 
vals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disap- 
pointment, a loss of wealth, a loss of friends, seems 
at the moment unpaid loss, and unpayable. But the 
sure years reveal the deep remedial force that under- 
lies all facts. The death of a dear friend, wife, brother, 
lover, which seemed nothing but privation, some- 
what later assumes the aspect of a guide or genius , 
for it commonly operates revolutions in our way of 
life, terminates an epoch of infancy or of youth which 
was waiting to be closed, breaks up a wonted occu- 
pation, or a household, or style of living, and allows 
the formation of new ones more friendly to the 
growth of character. It permits or constrains the 
formation of new acquaintances and the reception of 
new influences that prove of the first importance to 
the next years. Ralph Waldo Emerson. 



28 



January 24. 



Study to be quiet and to do your own business, 
and to work with your own hands, as we commanded 
you ; that ye may walk honestly toward them that are 
without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. — ■ 
I Thess iv, 11, 12 

Work for some good, be it ever so slowly; 
Cherish some flower, be it ever so lowly , 
Labor, all labor, is noble and holy , 
Let thy great deeds be thy prayer to thy God. 

Frances S. Osgood. 

A man who cannot mind his own business is not to 
be trusted with the king's. Saville 

Our grand business in life is not to see what lies 
dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at 
hand. Carlyle. 

The young fellow who will distance his competitors 
is he who masters his business, who preserves his 
integrity, who lives cleanly and purely, who devotes 
his leisure to the acquisition of knowledge, who gains 
friends by deserving them, and who saves his spare 
money. There are some ways to fortune shorter than 
this dusty old highway ; but the staunch men of the 
community, the men who achieve something really 
worth having — good fortune, good name, and serene 
old age — all go in this road. Secret of Success. 

Fidelity is seven-tenths of business success. 

Parton. 



January 25. 



29 



The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath noth- 
ing ; but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. — 
Prov. xiii, 4. 

The hand of the diligent shall bear rule : but the 
slothful shall be under tribute,— Prov. xii, 24. 

Luck lies abed, in dreams to number 

The coins of future riches vast ; 
Labor, arising from his slumber, 

Earns pence that grow to pounds at last. 

Golden Days. 

As the Divine seems nearest when human, and 
men have loved to believe in the union of God and 
man, so religion is loveliest when it assumes the form 
of common life, when daily work is a daily sacrament, 
and life itself a psalm of gratitude and prayer of 
aspiration. . . . Genius is the father of a heavenly 
line ; but the mortal mother, that is Industry. The 
act of prayer — that is the one great vital means of 
religious growth ; the resolute desire and the uncon- 
querable will to be the image of a perfect man ; the 
comparison of your actual day with your ideal dream. 
Fast as you learn a truth, moral, affectional, or relig- 
ious, apply the special truth to daily life, and you 
increase your piety ; so the best school for religion is 
the daily work of common life, with its daily discipline 
of personal, domestic, and social duties — the daily 
work in field or shop, market or house, " the charities 
that soothe and heal and bless." Nothing great is 
ever done without industry. Sloth sinks the idle boy 
to stupid ignorance, and vain to him are schools, and 
books, and all the appliances of the instructor's art. 
It is industry in religion which makes the man a saint. 
Then nurse the tender plant of piety; one day its 
bloom will adorn your gloomy hour, and be a bright- 
ness in many a winter day which now you reck not 
of. Theodore Parker. 



3° 



January 26. 



I know that Thou canst do everything, and that no 
thought can be withholden from Thee. — Job xlii, 2. 

A poet prayed for a beautiful thought, 

Which he might make the theme 
Of a song, as sweet to the ear it caught 
As a wood-bird's music, nature taught, 
Or the laugh from a baby's dream. 

To pray is good ; to do, is best ! 

Make, though thy voice be dumb, 
A pure heart home within thy breast, 
Where they, as sacred things, may rest, 

And beautiful thoughts will come. 

Adele R. Ingersoll. 

The happiness of your life depends upon the char- 
acter of your thoughts. Marcus Aurelius. 



Observe what direction your thoughts and feelings 
most readily take when you are alone, and you will 
then form a tolerably correct opinion of your real 
self. The Household. 

The pleasantest things in the world are pleasant 
thoughts, and the great art in life is to have as many 
of them as possible. Bovee. 

As you grow ready for it, somewhere or other you 
will find what is needful for you in a book or friend, 
or best of all, in your own thoughts — the eternal 
thought speaking in your thought. 

George MacDonald. 



January 27. 



3 1 



The Lord is my light and salvation ; whom shall I 
fear ? the Lord is the strength of my life ; of whom 
shall I be afraid? 

When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, 
came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and 
fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my 
heart shall not fear. — Ps. xxvii, i, 2, 3. 

This one thing will I do — most gratefully ; 
I will accept the life God gives to me, 
And wear it proudly, wear it patiently. 
Moulded and fashioned by His mighty hand, 
He gives to me the life that He has planned, 
And bids me take and see and understand, 
Among the millions of eternity. 
Plain as thou art, there is no one like thee. 
O life ! I bow before thee reverently ; 
High privilege — a gift so rare to take ! 
So I accept it, and for Thy great sake 
Of this the life Thou giv'st 
The best will make. 

Life is the greatest good that can possibly come 
unto a creature, the full blessedness and perfection of 
his nature ; for by it is meant a continuance, with 
growth and increase, in all holiness, happiness, hon- 
or, and immortality. And what more sweet than 
life, wherein all pleasures are enjoyed? 

Rev. John Dowxhame. 



32 



January 28. 



Blessed is the man whom Thou chasteneth, O Lord, 
and teachest him out of Thy law. — Ps. xciv, 12. 

Valor soars above 
What the world calls misfortune and afflictions. 
These are not ills, else would they never fall 
On Heaven's first favorites, and the best of men. 

Joseph Addison. 

Since afflictions are absolutely necessary for every 
believer, it is a most pernicious practice to sit rumi- 
nating on the aggravation of them, and reckoning up 
and dwelling on the dark side, for this actually doubles 
and trebles them ; so it is also in frequently speaking 
of them to others; it is true indeed that -it relieves 
and comforts a troubled saint to tell his sorrow to a 
pious and sincere friend, but to relate our trials to 
almost every one and in almost every company, is 
imprudent and unbecoming a true Christian ; the best 
way is to be much in prayer, and in the constant use 
of all the means to trust God through the merits of 
Christ, either to deliver us out of our afflictions, or to 
support us under them. It is also proper to make it 
a matter of repeated prayer, to be enabled to meet 
difficulties with a smiling countenance, and to speak 
of them as if they were small. If then we had faith 
in exercise under hardships, if we compared our sor- 
rows with many that we must know have suffered 
much more, if we could cast all our cares upon God, 
and think and speak very little of them, our afflic- 
tions would almost vanish away. 

Jonathan Edwards. 



January 29. 



33 



Go thy way for this time ; when I have a conve- 
nient season, I will call for thee. — Acts xxiv, 25. 

Boast not thyself of to-morrow ; for thou knowest 
not what a day may bring forth. — Prov. xxvii, 1. 

Shun delays, they breed remorse ; 

Take thy time, while time is lent thee ; 
Creeping snails have weakest force ; 

Fly their fault, lest thou repent thee. 
Good is best when soonest wrought, 
Lingering labors come to nought. 

Southwell. 

Procrastination is the thief of time ; 
Year after year it steals, till all are fled, 
And to the mercies of a moment leaves 
The vast concerns of an eternal scene. 

Edward Young. 

To be always intending to lead a new life, but 
never to find time to set about it : this is as if a man 
should put off eating and drinking and sleeping from 
one day and night to another, till he is starved and 
destroyed. Tillotson. 



Procrastination is the kidnapper of souls and the 
recruiting officer of hell. Edward Irving. 

3 



34 



January 30. 



A man that hath friends must show himself friendly ; 
and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a 
brother. — Prov. xviii, 24. 

First on thy friend deliberate with thyself ; 
Pause, ponder, sift ; not eager in thy choice, 
Nor jealous of the chosen ; fixing, fix — 
Judge before friendship, then confide till death. 

Edward Young. 

There is scarcely any character under which Christ 
in His Manhood is represented by which He comes 
so near and dear to us as that of Friend. Man is 
made a social being, and a large portion of our 
earthly enjoyment springs from the society of our 
friends. Now Jesus meets this deep want of our 
nature by offering to all — the most guilty trans- 
gressor — the homeless wanderer — the abandoned 
outcast — the precious boon of His friendship. But 
let us remember that while it is the true friendship of 
Man that Jesus offers us, it is also that of God. While 
He wears our nature, and is truly our Brother, He is 
also our King. His friendship is therefore backed 
by Omnipotence, and it cannot consequently possibly, 
fail in what it undertakes to do for us. We may have 
an earthly friend who is neither wanting in constancy 
of affection nor in willingness to make any sacrifice to 
aid us, but he is deficient in ability. In the dark hour 
of our extremity, when we most need aid, he stands 
by, it may be, with a tearful eye and a bleeding heart, 
but utterly helpless to assist us. But it is not so with 
Jesus. Never can we be beyond the grasp of His 
powerful hand. His resources are not only boundless, 
but they are available when we most require them. 

Robert Boyd. 



Life without friendship is like the sky without the 
sun. Cicero. 



January 31. 



35 



The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice 
will we obey. — Josh, xxiv, 24. 

I'm listening for Thy voice, Lord, 

Thy commands. 
Am I to use for Thee, Lord, 
Busy hands ? 
Or wouldst Thou have me still wait patiently ? 
Thou knowest which is best — Thou lovest me, 

T. P. 

He speaketh,but it is with us to hearken or no, It 
is much, yea, it is everything, not to turn away the 
ear, to be willing to hearken, not to drown His voice. 
" The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." 
It is a secret, hushed voice, a gentle intercourse of 
heart to heart, a still, small voice, whispering to the 
inner ear. How should we hear it if we fill our ears 
and our hearts with the din of this world, its empty 
tumult, its excitement, its fretting vanities, or cares, 
or passions, or anxieties, or show, or rivalries, and its 
whirl of emptiness ? E. B. Pusey. 

What we call Conscience is the voice of Divine 
love in the deep of our being, desiring union with our 
will ; and which, by attracting the affections inward, 
invites them to enter into the harmonious content- 
ment and " fullness of joy " which attends the being 
joined by " one Spirit to the Lord," 

J. P. Greaves. 



36 



February i. 



If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from 
doing thy pleasure on my holy day ; and call the Sab- 
bath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable ; and 
shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, or find- 
ing thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own 
words : Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord ; 
and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places 
of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob 
thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken 
it. — Isaiah Iviii, 13, 14. 

A Sabbath well spent 

Brings a week of content, 
And strength for the toils of the morrow, 

But a Sabbath profaned 

Whatsoever is gained 
Is a certain forerunner of sorrow. 

Old Rhyme. 

I never knew a man to escape failures, in either 
mind or body, who worked seven days in a week. 

Sir Robert Peel. 

If any man would gain the Divine life, he must 
have a resting-space, a breathing-time for the spirit ; 
he must have a day when all common business can 
be entirely put aside, and the mind set free from 
every earthly thought and care ; when he may sit like 
Mary at Jesus' feet, in meek hearing of His word, in 
quiet devotion, in meditation on things unseen. It is 
only thus that we can ever gain a fixed and clear faith 
in another world, and set our hearts at rest in God, 
as the Source and centre of our being. It is only 
thus that we can become sobered and stilled amidst 
the hurry and noise of the world, and be deeply, per- 
manently soothed into " quietness and assurance for 
ever." T. T. Carter. 



February 2. 



37 



Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without 
which no man shall see the Lord. — Heb. xii, 14. 

They whose hearts are whole and strong, 

Loving holiness, 
Living clean from soil of wrong, 

Wearing truth's white dress, — 
They unto no far-off height 

Wearily need climb ; 
Heaven to them is close in sight 

From these shores of time. 

Lucy Larcom. 

He simply places Himself by our side, and shows 
us a perfect life, God's life on earth in man ; and He 
says : " You are to be saints and heroes, every one of 
you, in the only true sense, just where you are. That 
is the reason why I have come to you where you 
are." He uses no compulsion, no violence. He does 
not put His power in the place of your liberty. Who- 
ever lives the heroic or saintly life will do it of his 
own choice, his free will. There is no manhood, wo- 
manhood, character otherwise. 

Bishop Huntington. 

The old rule for a saintly life was — (I) praying; (II) 
laboring ; (III) striving after holiness ; (IV) practicing 
patience. . . . One great characteristic of holiness 
is never to be exacting — never to complain. 

Gold Dust. 



38 



February 3. 



Man's goings are of the Lord ; how can a man then 
understand his own way ? — Prov. xx, 24. 

Thou earnest not to thy place by accident, 

It is the very place God meant for thee : 

And shouldst thou there small scope for action see, 

Do not for this give room to discontent. 

R. C. French. 

The highest service may be prepared for and done 
in the humblest surroundings. In silence, in waiting, 
in obscure, unnoticed offices, in years of uneventful, 
unrecorded duties, the Son of God grew and waxed 
strong. 

Canon Westcott. 

Keep up all knowledge that you have acquired, and 
gain as much more as you can. By reading you will 
be distinguished ; without it abilities are of little use. 
A man may talk and write, but he cannot learn his 
profession without constant study to prepare ; espe- 
cially for the higher ranks, because there he wants the 
knowledge and experience of his own improved by 
that of others. But when in a post of responsibility 
he has no time to read, and if he comes to such a 
post with an empty skull, it is then too late to fill it 
and he makes no figure. Thus many people fail to 
distinguish themselves and say they are unfortunate, 
which is untrue ; their own previous idleness has un- 
fitted them to profit from fortune. 

Youth's Co??ipanion. 



February 4. 



39 



Boast not thyself of to-morrow ; for thou knowest 
not what a day may bring forth. — Prov. xxvii, i. 



There's no time like the present ; 

To-morrow's far away, 
And what our hands may find to do 

God bids us do to-day. 

Be ready in the golden Now 

To do a helpful deed, 
And never let the chance go by 

To meet a sister's need. 

Don't wait until another time, 

For she who waits may lose 
The grandest chance of all her life ; 

It is not ours to choose. 

The opportunities to do ; 

They come at God's behest, 
And she who never squanders one 

Is she who lives the best. 

Eben E. Rexford. 



Sufficient for each day is the good thereof, equally 
as the evil. We must do at once, and with our might, 
the merciful deed that our hand nndeth to do — else it 
will never be done, for the hand will find other tasks, 
and the arrears fall through. And every unconsum- 
mated good feeling, every unfulfilled purpose that His 
Spirit has prompted, shall one day charge us as faith- 
less and recreant before God. 

J. H. Thom. 



40 



February 5. 



Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor. — 
Zech. viii, 16. 

If thou hast truth to utter. 
Speak, and leave the rest to God. 

W. D. Gallagher. 

Be bold, brave, true, honest. If you know a thing 
is right, do it. If you have a solemn conviction, dare 
to utter it in the fear of God, regardless of the wrath 
of man. 

John B. Gough. 

Truth is established by investigation and delay ; 
falsehood prospers by precipitacy. 

Tacitus. 

The seeds of truth sown by great and loyal men 
bear fruit through all the years to be. To have lived 
and labored and died for the right, nothing can be 
sublimer. 



February 6. 



41 



See that ye love one another with a pure heart 
fervently. — I Pet. i, 22. 

Let each act 
Assail a fault or help a merit grow : 
Like threads of silver seen through crystal beads, 
Let love through good deeds show. 

Edwin Arnold. 

You will find, as you look back upon your life, that 
the moments that stand out — the moments when you 
have really lived — are the moments when you have 
done things in a spirit of love. As memory scans the 
past, above and beyond all the transitory pleasures of 
" life, there leap forward those supreme hours when you 
have been enabled to do unnoticed kindnesses to 
those round about you, things too trifling to speak 
about, but which you feel have entered into your 
eternal life. 

Henry Drummond. 

Love's secret is to be always doing things for God, 
and not to mind because they are such very little ones. 

F. W. Faber. 

The desire to be beloved is ever restless and unsat- 
isfied ; but the love that flows out upon others is a 
perpetual well-spring from on high. 

Lydia M. Child. 



4* 



February 7. 



The Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, 
and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. — Deut. 
xv, 10. 

I will shun no toil or woe, 
Where Thou leadest I will go, 

Be my pathway plain or rough ; 
If but every hour may be 
Spent in work that pleases Thee, 

Ah, dear Lord, it is enough ! 

G. Tersteegen. 

I think I find most help in trying- to look on all in- 
terruptions and hindrances to work that one has 
planned out for one's self as discipline ; trials sent by 
God to help one against getting selfish over one's 
work. Then one can feel that perhaps one's true 
work — one's work for God — consists in doing some 
trifling, haphazard thing that has been thrown into 
one's day. It is not waste of time, as one is tempted 
to think ; it is the most important part of the work of 
the day — the part one can best offer to God. After 
such a hindrance, do not rush after the planned work ; 
trust that the time to finish it will be give some time, 
and keep a quiet heart about it. 

Annie Keary. 



February 8. 



43 



The fear of man bringeth a snare : but whoso 
putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. — Prov. 
xxix, 25. 

Never despair, with strength and health — 

Something beyond the reach of wealth. 

Rain must fall, and the heavens must frown, 
And flowers must fade, and fields grow brown, 
And riches are winged like thistle-down. 

Out from the ribs of the rocky earth 

Comes up the joys of the winter hearth ; 

Up from the deep, dark caves of the sea 

Come the pearls of the kings to be ; 

And out of the flint we crush the gold, 

And water with sweat the seed in mould ; 

And the sword that never forsakes the sheath 

Shall win no worth the heavens beneath ! 
Then still hold up with a manly brow, 
And meet the storm that is driving now ; 
As long as there are millions to feed ; 
Millions to clothe, and millions to lead, 
So long must the loom, the plow, and the pen 
Demand the toil of earnest men. 

Only be true to yourself and the Right, 

And, chasing the steps of the dismal night, 

The sun will flood you with cloudless light. 

Never be cast down by trifles. If a spider breaks 
his web twenty times, twenty times will he mend it. 
Make up your mind to do a thing, and you will do it. 
Fear not, if trouble comes upon you. Keep your 
spirits up, though the day maybe a dark one. If the 
sun is going down, look up to the stars ; if the earth is 
dark, keep your eyes on Heaven. 

Anonymous. 

There is no despair so absolute as that which comes 
with the first moments of our first great sorrow, when 
we have not yet known what it is to have suffered 
and be healed, to have despaired and have recovered 
hope. George Eliot. 



44 



February 9. 



And every man that striveth for the mastery is tem- 
perate in all things. — I Cor. ix, 25. 

Oh ! that men should put an enemy in 
Their mouths, to steal away their brains ! that we 
Should, with joy, pleasance, revel and applause, 
Transform ourselves to beasts ! 

Shakespeare. 

'Tis to thy rules, O Temperance ! that we owe 

All pleasures that from health and strength can flow. 

Mary Chandler. 

As excessive eating or drinking both makes the 
body sickly and lazy, fit for nothing but sleep, and be- 
sots the mind, as it clogs up with crudities the way 
through which the spirits should pass, bemiring them, 
and making them move heavily, as a coach in a deep 
way ; thus doth all immoderate use of the world and 
its delights wrong the soul in its spiritual condition, 
makes it sickly and feeble, full of spiritual distempers 
and inactivity, benumbs the graces of the Spirit, and 
fills the soul with sleepy vapors, makes it grow secure 
and heavy in spiritual exercises, and obstructs the way 
and motion of the Spirit of God, in the soul. There- 
fore, if you would be spiritual, healthful, and vigor- 
ous, and enjoy much of the consolations of Heaven, 
be sparing and sober in those of the earth ; and what 
you abate of the one shall be certainly made up in the 
other. Robert Leightox. 



February io. 



45 



Forgive, if ye have aught against any : that your 
Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your 
trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your 
Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. — 
Mark xi, 25, 26. 

As a tale that is told, as a vision, 

Forgive and forget ; for I say 
That the true shall endure the derision 

Of the false till the full of the day ; 

Ay, forgive as you would be forgiven ; 

Ay, forget, lest the ill you have done 
Be remembered against you in Heaven 

And all the days under the sun. 

For who shall have bread without labor? 

And who shall have rest without price ? 
And who shall hold war w T ith his neighbor 

With promise of peace with the Christ. 

Joaquin Miller. 

How great is the contrast between that forgiveness 
to which we lay claim from God toward us and our 
temper toward others ! God, we expect, will forgive 
us great offenses — offenses many times repeated ; and 
will forgive them freely, liberally, and from the heart. 
But we are offended at our neighbor, perhaps, for the 
merest trifles, and for an injury only once offered ; and 
we are but half reconciled when we seem to forgive. 
-Even an uncertain humor, an ambiguous word, or a 
suspected look will inflame our anger ; and hardly any 
persuasion will induce us for a long time to relent. 

H. Thornton. 



The forgiveness we want is infinite, changeless, 
everlasting. J. H. Evans. 



46 



February ii. 



The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him 
actions are weighed. — I Sam. ii, 3. 

Haste not — let no thoughtless deed 
Mar for e'er the spirit's speed ; 
Ponder well and know the right, 
Onward, then, with all thy might ; 
Haste not — years can ne'er atone 
For one reckless action done ! 

Rest not ! life is sweeping by, 

Do and Dare before you die ; 

Something mighty and sublime 

Leave behind to conquer time , 

Glorious 'tis to live for aye 

When these forms have passed away? 

Haste not ! rest not ! calmly wait, 
Meekly bear the storms of fate , 
Duty be thy polar guide 
Do the right, whate'er betide ! 
Haste not — rest not — conflict past, 
God shall crown thy work at last ! 

J. Wolfgang von Goethe. 

Not alone to know, but to act according to thy 
knowledge, is thy destination — proclaims the voice of 
thy inmost soul. Not for indolent contemplation and 
study of thyself, nor for brooding over emotions of 
piety — no, for action was existence given thee ; thy 
actions, and thy actions alone, determine thy worth. 

Johann Gottlieb Fichte. 

He is incapable of a truly good action, who knows 
not the pleasure of contemplating the good actions of 
others 

Johann Gaspar Lavater. 



February 12. 



47 



But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on 
the breastplate of faith and love ; and for a helmet, 
the hope of salvation. — I Thess. v, 8. 

Fainting soul, arise and sing ; 
Mount, but be sober on the wing ; 
Mount up, for Heaven is won by prayer, 
Be sober, for thou art not there, 
Till Death the weary spirit free ; 
Thy God hath said, 'Tis good for thee 
To walk by faith and not by sight : 

Take it on trust a little while , 
Soon shalt thou read the mystery right 

In the full sunshine of His smile. 

John Keble. 

Our mind will wander, but the will should be kept 
firm. It is not a question of doing what is difficult ; 
do the smallest and most ordinary actions with a heart 
set on God, as one who is seeking the sole aim of his 
being and you may do whatever others do, sin only 
excepted. You will then be a kindly, cheerful, cour- 
teous, obliging friend ; cheerful at such seasons and 
in such company as are fitting for a real Christian. 
You will be sober at table and everywhere else ; sober 
in speech, in expenditure, in judgment, in your inter- 
course with others, in amusement, even in holy 
things, according to St. Paul. The love of God 
teaches this universal sobriety in the use even of all 
that is best with a most beautiful simplicity. Those 
who learn it are not constrained, harsh, or scrupu- 
lous, but they have a principle of love within which 
expands the heart and softens it, and without restraint 
or anxiety fills it with a sensitive care never to offend 
God, and checks it when there is danger of going too 
far Fenelon. 

Sobriety is a care which does not injure pleasure, 

Andre; Dacier, 



4 8 



February 13. 



A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth : and 
a word spoken in due season, how good is it ! The 
thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the 
Lord : but the words of the pure are pleasant words. 
— Prov. xv, 23, 26. 

What you keep by you, you may change and mend ; 
But words, once spoken can never be recalled. 

Roscommon. 

Our French cousins call the unerring perception 
which enables us to say without fail the right thing 
in the right place, the sixth sense. Some of us are 
born with it. It is as natural a trait, indeed, in the 
American character as it is rare in that of some other 
people. It can be gained by cultivation of a kindly 
spirit, and the habit of placing ourselves momentarily 
in each man's place before we speak to him. 

Youth's Companion. 

Talent is something, but tact is everything. Talent 
is serious, sober, grave, and respectable : tact is all 
that, and more too. It is not a sixth sense, but it is 
the life of all the five. It is the open eye, the quick 
ear, the judging taste, the keen smell, and the lively 
touch ; it is the interpreter of all riddles, the sur- 
mounter of all difficulties, the remover of all obstacles. 
It is useful in all places, and at all times ; it is useful 
in solitude, for it shows a man his way into the world ; 
it is useful in society, for it shows him his way through 
the world. Talent is power, tact is skill ; talent is 
weight, tact is momentum ; talent knows what to do, 
tact knows how to do it ; talent makes a man respect- 
able, tact will make him respected ; talent is wealth, 
tact is ready money. For all the practical purposes 
of life, tact carries it against talent, ten to one. . . . 
Tact has a knack of slipping into place with a sweet 
silence and glibness of movement. It seems to know 
everything without learning anything. ... It has all 
the air of commonplace, and all the force and power 
of genius. London Atlas. 



February 14. 



For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time 
are not worthy to be compared with the glory which 
shall be revealed in us. — Rom. viii, 18. 

Those only who have suffered know to teach ; 
The heart that has not felt the doubts and fears, 
That make a sorrow all too deep for tears, 

Cannot point out the thorny road to reach 

The blessed peace that breaks upon the dark ; 
The worthless steel that passes through the fire, 
Comes bright and spotless from the glowing pyre, 

Undimmed by loveless stain or impure mark. 

And thus the soul that through the ordeal 
Of suffering comes forth triumphantly, 

Has gained the virtues that lay hidden all 
Until the fire made them shine buoyantly ; 

And, with the new-found knowledge deep and clear, 

It brings glad echoes to the list'ning ear. 

Stewart Robertson. 

God sends us no gift with choicer possibilities in it 
than are enwrapped in suffering. Trumbull. 

As some herbs need to be crushed to give forth 
their sweetest odors, so some natures need to be tried 
by suffering to evoke the excellence that is in them. 
Grief is a common bond that unites hearts. It can 
knit hearts closer than happiness can, and common 
sufferings are far stronger links than common joys. 
The visitations of sorrow are universal. There beats 
not a heart that has not felt the force of affliction. 

Bulwer. 

Suffering becomes beautiful when any one bears 
great calamities with cheerfulness, not, through in- 
sensibility, but through greatness of mind. 

Aristotle. 



4 



5° 



February 15. 



He never withdraweth His mercy from us: and 
though He punish with adversity, yet doth He never 
forsake His people. — II Mac. vi, 16. 



Adversity, sage useful guest 
Severe instructor, but the best, 
It is from thee alone we know 
Justly to value things here below. 

SOMERVILLE. 



He that has never known adversity is but half 
acquainted with others or with himself. Constant 
success shows us but one side of the world, for, as it 
surrounds us with friends who will tell us only our 
merits, so it silences those enemies from whom alone 
we can learn our defects. 

Colton. 



Adversity is a trial of principle. Without it a man 
hardly knows whether he is honest or not. 

Fielding. 



Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man ; but for 
one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hun- 
dred that will stand adversity. 

Carlyle. 



February 16. 



5i 



If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do 
them. — John xiii, 17. 

Loving words will cost but little, 

Journeying up the hill of life ; 
But they make the weak and weary 

Stronger, braver for the strife. 
Do you count them only trifles ? 

What to earth are sun and rain ? 
Never was a kind word wasted ; 

Never one was said in vain. 

Anon. 



Few persons realize how much happiness may be 
promoted by a few words of cheer spoken in mo- 
ments of despondency, by words of encouragement 
in seasons of difficulty, by words of commendation 
when obstacles have been overcome by effort and 
perseverance. Words fitly spoken often sink so deep 
into the mind and heart of the person to whom they 
are addressed that they remain a fixed, precious and 
oft-recurring memory — a continuous sunshine, light- 
ing up years, perhaps, after the lips that have uttered 
them are sealed in death. A whole life has been 
changed, exalted, expanded, and illumined by a single 
expression of approval falling timely upon a sensitive 
and ambitious nature. Words of cheer cost nothing 
to the speaker. On the contrary, they a,re to him, as 
well as to the hearer, a source of great happiness, to 
be had for the mere effort of uttering them. The 
habit of speaking such words at appropriate times is 
easily acquired, while at the same time it is of so much 
importance that it should be sedulously cultivated by 
all. Anon. 



52 



February 17. 



Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. — 
Gal. vi, 7. 

Go forth in the field of the Lord, 

With zeal to perform thy own part ; 
Go ! bearing the precious seed of the true word, ; 

To cast in each wilderness heart. 
Though tears may thy eyelids bedew, 

While viewing the deserts of sin, 
Sow on, and wait not the harvest to view ; 

The harvest shall surely begin. 

'Tis thine to be sowing the seed, 

The Spirit's to water and bless, 
Rely upon Him for whate'er thou may'st need, 

Thou canst not fail of success ; 
For sure as the earth yields her grain, 

So fruitful the seed shall be found, 
And thou shalt return with rejoicing again 

That plenty thy labor has crowned. 

Anon. 

The present life is the seed-plot of the future state, 
and the harvest which we reap in eternity is the same 
in character and quality as that which now we sow. 
Every thought we think, every word we speak, every 
action we perform, every opportunity of service neg- 
lected or improved, is a seed sown by us, the fruit of 
which shall multiply either untold miseries or myriad 
blessings in the eternity into which we go. 

William M. Taylor. 



February 18. 



53 



But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord : 
He is their strength in the time of trouble. — Ps. 
xxxvii, 39. 

Then, O my soul, be ne'er afraid, 

On Him who thee and all things made 

Do thou all calmly rest ; 
Whate'er may come, where'er we go, 
Our Father in the heavens must know 

In all things what is best. 

Paul Flemming. 

Every contradiction of our will, every little ailment, 
every petty disappointment, will, if we take it pa- 
tiently, become a blessing. So, walking on earth, we 
may be in heaven ; the ill-tempers of others, the 
slights and rudenesses of the world, ill-health, the 
daily accidents with which God has mercifully strewed 
our paths, instead of ruffling or disturbing our peace, 
may cause His peace to be shed abroad in our hearts 
abundantly. 

E. B. Pusey. 



54 



February 19. 



Faithful are the wounds of a friend ; but the kisses 
of an enemy are deceitful. Thine own friend and 
father's friend, forsake not. — Prov. xxvii, 6, 10. 

Friendship above all ties does bind the heart, 
And faith in friendship is the noblest part. 

Lord Orrery. 

He who, malignant, tears an absent friend, 
Or, when attack'd by others, don't defend, 
Who friendship's secrets knows not to conceal — 
That man is vile. 

Francis' Horace. 

If thou shouldst find thy friend in the wrong, re- 
prove him secretly ; but in company praise him. 

Arabic. 

A slender acquaintance with the world must con- 
vince every man that actions, not words, are the true 
criterion of the attachments of friends, and that the 
most liberal professions of good-will are very far from 
being the surest marks of it. 

George Washington. 

A foe to God was ne'er true friend to man, some 
sinister intent taints all he does. 

Edward Young. 

We never know the true value of friends. While 
they live we are too sensitive of their faults ; when 
we have lost them, we only see their virtues. 

' J. C. and A. W. Hare. 



February 20. 55 



I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the 
goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. — Ps. 
xxvii, 13. 

So hard, so hard to learn ! 

It has taken years upon years ; 
For the teaching seemed hard and stern, 

And she could not see for tears. 

So hard, so hard to learn ! 

She longed for the lighter task, 
The poor weak heart would yearn 

And the faltering lips would ask. 

Ah ! foolish heart ! to seek 

For a smoother, easier road, 
A way is made for the meek 

That will lead them straight to God. 

T. M. Browne. 

Let us be very careful of thinking, on the one 
hand, that we have no work assigned us to do, or, on 
the other hand, that what we have assigned to us is 
not the right thing for us. If ever we can say in our 
hearts to God, in reference to any daily duty, " This 
is not my place ; I would choose something dearer ; I 
am capable of something higher ;" we are guilty not 
only of rebellion, but of blasphemy. It is equivalent 
to saying, not only, " My heart revolts against Thy 
commands," but " Thy commands are unwise ; Thine 
Almighty guidance is unskillful; Thine omniscient 
eye has mistaken the capacities of Thy creature ; 
Thine infinite love is indifferent to the welfare of 
Thy child." 

Elizabeth Charles. 



56 



February 21. 



I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith 
to be content. — Phil, iv, n. 

Just be content, 
The star of hope though hidden, shineth still ; 
With patience bide the clouded hours 
And learn the Master's will. 
Remember how, at His great voice 
The troubled sea grew still. 

Just be content. 

M. S. Burns. 

A heart rejoicing in God delights in all His will, 
and is surely provided with the most firm joy in all 
estates ; for if nothing can come to pass beside or 
against His will, then cannot that soul be vexed 
which delights in Him and hath no will but His, but 
follows Him in all times, in all estates ; not only when 
He shines bright on them, but when they are clouded. 
That flower which follows the sun doth so even in 
dark and cloudy days : when it doth not shine forth, 
yet it follows the hidden course and motion of it. So 
the soul that moves after God keeps that course when 
He hides His face ; is content, yea, even glad at His 
will in all estates or conditions or events. 

R. Leighton. 

A contented mind is always joyful ; but joy like this 
is but religion. The rich and poor alike, having con- 
tentment, enjoy perpetual rest Buddha. 



February 22. 



57 



Give, and it shall be given unto you ; good meas- 
ure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running 
over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the 
same measure ye mete withal it shall be measured to 
you again. — Luke vi, 38. 

Is thy cruse of comfort wasting ? 

Rise and share it with another, 
And through all the years of famine, 

It shall serve thee and thy brother. 
Is thy burden hard and heavy ? 

Do thy steps drag wearily? 
Help to bear thy brother's burden ; 

God will bear both it and thee. 
Is the heart a living power? 

Self-entwined, its strength sinks low ; 
It can only live in loving, 

And by serving, love will grow. 

Elizabeth Charles. 

The beautiful law of Christian love, life, and truth 
is that the more we give of our own capital the more 
that capital increases. The widow's cruse of oil and 
barrel of meal increased as she distributed them ; 
and a Christian's sunshine and happiness, faith and 
hope, will be invigorated and multiplied in propor- 
tion as he tries to make others hopeful, trustful and 
happy. John Cumming. 



58 



February 23. 



Why stand ye here all the day idle ? — Matt, xx, 6. 

Nothing to do ! There are prayers to lay 
On the altar of incense, day by day. 
There are foes to meet within and without ; 
There is error to conquer, strong and stout. 

Nothing to do ! There are lambs to feed, 
The precious hope of the church's need ; 
Strength to be borne to the weak and faint ; 
Vigils to keep with the doubting saint. 

Nothing to do ! and thy Saviour said : 
" Follow thou me in the path I tread.' ' 
Lord, lend Thy help the journey through, 
Lest, faint, we cry : " So much to do." 

Anonymous. 

Never be idle. Idleness means ruin, just as stag- 
nation means decay. You can catch better things 
than early worms by rising in the morning — some- 
thing that will paint your cheeks, lighten your step, 
quicken your pulse, brighten your eye and give you 
such an appetite as will make breakfast a pleasure, 
dinner a treat, tea a delight, and no room for supper. 
Besides, it's only one early bird that catches the 
worm. Every early boy can catch the benefit I speak 
of. And what the boy learns to love the man will 
turn to deeper account, and just when the idle man is 
thinking that he ought to have a fortune the early one 
will be wrapping his up and running off to the bank 
with it. Anonymous. 



February 24. 



59 



Their strength is to sit still, — Is. xxx, 7. 

Steep mountain-sides and cliffs I cannot scale ; 

Even in sunn}- fields my footsteps fail. 

Here in the valley, Lord, I sit and try 

To bring refreshment to the passers-by. 

Lord, may the sweeping winds that round me blow, 

Cause Thy dear cherished seeds to farther go ; 

Sown on the breeze, the fruit I cannot see ; 

O, garner, Lord ! I sow them all for Thee. 

Anonymous. 

That God has circumscribed our life may add a pe- 
culiar element of trial, but often it defines our way 
and cuts off many tempting possibilities that perplex 
the free and the strong ; whilst it leaves intact the 
whole body of spiritual reality, with the Beatitude 
thereon, " That if we know these things, happy are 
we if we do them." We know that God orders the 
lot ; and to meet it with the energies it requires and 
permits, neither more nor less, to fill it at every 
available point with the light and action of an earnest 
and spiritually inventive mind, though its scene be no 
wider than a sick-chamber, and its action narrowed to 
patient suffering, and gentle, cheerful words, and all 
the light it can emit, the thankful ojiiet of a trustful 
eye — without chafing as though God had misjudged 
our sphere, and placed us wrong, and did not know 
where .we could best serve Him — this is what, in that 
condition, we have to do. J. H. Thom. 



6o 



February 25. 



Withhold not good from them to whom it is due,when 
it is in the power of thy hand to do it. — Prov. iii, 27. 

Be quick to praise ; be slow to scorn : 
For what the future holds, who knows ? 

F. D. Sherman. 

The praise which comes from the lips of some one 
we love is not likely to make us vain, but rather gives 
that self-confidence without which self-respect is 
hardly possible. The heartache and discouragement 
which a sensitive girl often feels from petty fault-find- 
ing can hardly be appreciated, and what use is all the 
condemnation and censure unless it leads the indi- 
vidual to better things another time ? If we can so 
measure our fault-finding and equalize it with com- 
mendation for the good things that really are, we are 
far more likely to benefit the child than by the mean- 
ingless complaint, which too often carries a painful 
sting. It is a terrible thing to break down the confi- 
dence and faith youth has in itself. It is natural that 
the young should be hopeful. It is a part of youth to 
look forward. Gentle praise from one we love lightens 
the burden w r hich each one of us is called on to bear. 
It smoothes away the discouragement and perplexities 
from the path. Those men who have been the most 
powerful agents in progress and good have been those 
who believed in men, and who somehow touched the 
well-springs of their nature, and thereby lifted them 
to higher things. Those who attempted to influence 
by fierce denunciation have seldom exerted great 
power. The Divine power of love, which always 
lifts up, has ever been the greatest force in all the ex- 
perience of the world. New York Tribune. 



February 26. 



61 



Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, 
if any man have a quarrel against any : even as Christ 
forgave you, so also do ye. — Col. iii, 13. 

Echo not an angry word, 

Let it pass ! 
Think how often you have erred, 

Let it pass ! 
Since our joys must pass away 
Like the dewdrops on the spray, 
Wherefore should our sorrow stay ? 

Let it pass ! 

If for good you suffer ill, 

Let it pass ! 
O be kind and gentle still, 

Let it pass ! 
Time at last makes all things straight ; 
Let us not resent but wait, 
And our triumph shall be great : 

Let it pass ! 

Anonymous. 

No one thing does human life more need than a 
kind consideration of men's faults. Every one sins ; 
every one needs forbearance. Their own imperfec- 
tions should teach men to be merciful. God is merci- 
ful because He is perfect. As men grow toward the 
Divine, they become gentle, forgiving, compassion- 
ate. The absence of a merciful spirit is evidence of 
the want of true holiness. A soul that has really 
entered into the life of Christ carries in itself a store 
of nourishment, and a cordial for helpless souls 
around it. Henry Ward Beecher. 



62 



February 27. 



But my God shall supply all your need according 
to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. — Phi. iv, 19. 

In the way that He shall choose 

He will teach us ; 
•Not a lesson shall we lose, 

All shall reach us. 

Strange and difficult indeed 

We may find it, 
But the blessing that we need 

Is behind it. 

All the lessons He shall send 

Are the sweetest, 
And His training in the end 

Is completest. 

F. R. Havergal. 

Whatever our needs, He can supply them, for He 
is God. He will supply them, for He is love. Only 
let us believe, and our joy and blessedness shall be 
full. Let us honor God by trusting Him entirely. Let 
us be as willing to receive as He is to bestow. 

Thorold. 



February 28. 



63 



Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly 
love ; in honor preferring one another. — Rom. xii, 10. 

Think only of what is true and pure, 
And thy happiness will be secure. 

Speak only what is good and true, 
And to the world it will seem anew. 

Do only what is right and kind, 
And you will win all humankind. 

Anonymous. 

It is the duty of all to cultivate a spirit of gracious- 
ness, to remember their friends in graceful ways. It 
is their duty to cultivate the kindly manner, which is 
the outward expression of the kindly heart. It is the 
manner in which the deed is done more than the deed 
that soothes the neglected one and brings her back 
to hope, which is life. There are cruel wrongs done 
every day, not by evil intention, but by actions that 
had the best intention. The rough diamond is a very 
disagreeable-looking stone, and the individual repre- 
sented by this type is equally objectionable in these 
modern days, when quality is more sought for than 
quantity in all work, and gentleness and refinement 
more than gross forces. New York Tribune. 

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making 
everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles. 

Irving. 

Be determined, if possible, never to injure the feel- 
ings or tastes of any one, and cultivate earnestly the 
most graceful way of expressing kind actions. 



6 4 



February 29. 



And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon 
us : and establish thou the work of our hands upon 
us ; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. — 
Ps. xc, 17. 

What you can do, or dream you can, begin it : 
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it ; 
Only engage and then the mind grows heated ; 
Begin, and then the work will be completed. 

Goethe. 

Of all paths a man could strike into, there is, at any 
given moment, a best path for every man ; a thing 
which, here and now, it were of all things wisest for 
him to do ; which could he but be led or driven to do, 
he were then doing " like a man," as we phrase it. 
His success, in such case, were complete, his felicity 
a maximum. This path, to find this path, and walk 
in it, is the one thing needful for him. 

Thomas Carlyle. 

To make some nook of God's creation a little fruit- 
fuller, better, more worthy of God, to make some hu- 
man hearts a little wiser, manfuller, happier, more 
blessed, less accursed, — it is a work for a god. 

Thomas Carlyle. 



March i. 



65 



For the Lord God is a sun and a shield : the Lord 
will give grace and glory : no good thing will He 
withhold from them that walk uprightly, — Ps, Ixxxiv, 
11. 



Only a word for the Master, 
Lovingly, quietly said. 

Only a word ! 

Yet the Master heard, 
And some fainting hearts were fed. 

Only an hour with the children, 
Pleasantly,, cheerfully given, 

Yet seed was sown 

In that hour alone 
Which would bring forth fruit for Heaven ! 

M Only "—But Jesus is looking 
Constantly, tenderly down 
To earth and sees 
Those who strive to please 
And their love He loves to crown. 

The truly upright are inflexible in their upright- 
ness. 

Francis Atterbury. 



God loveth those that follow their vocation and live 
uprightly, without any falsehood in their dealing. 

Hugh Latimer, 



66 March 2. 



I will be glad and rejoice in Thy mercy: for, Thou 
hast considered my trouble ; Thou hast known my 
soul in adversities. — Ps. xxxi, 7. 

As the harp strings only render 

All their treasure of sweet sound, 
All their music, glad or tender, 

Firmly struck and tightly bound : 
So the hearts of Christians owe 

Each its deepest, sweetest strain, 
To the pressure firm of woe, 

And the tension-tight of pain. 
Spices crushed their pungence yield, 

Trodden scents their sweets respire ; 
Would you have its strength reveal'd 

Cast the incense in the fire : 
Thus the crush'd and broken frame 

Oft doth sweetest graces yield ; 
And through suffering, toil, and shame, 
From the martyr's keenest flame 

Heavenly incense is distill ' d. 

Adam of St. Victor. 

A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor is a 
man perfected without trials. 

Chinese. 

Thou art never at any time nearer to God than 
when under tribulation ; which He permits for the 
purification and beautifying of thy soul. 

M. Molinos. 



March 3. 



67 



Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with 
benefits. — Ps. lxviii, 19. 



I hold the aim of him is less 
Who seeks for his own happiness 

Than his who lives for others. 
For, stripped of vanity and pride, 
The brightest truth the whole world wide 

Is this — That men are Brothers. 



My experience of life makes me sure of one truth, 
which I do not try to explain, that the sweetest happi- 
ness we ever know comes not from love, but from 
sacrifice — from the effort to make others happy. 

"ohn Boyle O'Reilly. 

Partake only of such joys as may have a joyful 
remembrance. 

Berthold Auerbach. 



The greatest happiness comes from the greatest 
activity. 

Bovee. 



68 



March 4. 



God is my salvation ; I will trust and not be afraid. — 
Isa. xii, 2. 



The ringer stood at the key-board, 

Far down beneath the chimes, 
And patiently struck the noisy keys, 

As he had uncounted times. 

He only knew his duty 

And he did it with patient care ; 
But he could not hear the music 

That floated through the air. 

Only the jar and the clamor 

Fell harshly on his ear, 
And he missed the mellow chiming 

That every one else could hear. 

So we from our quiet watch-towers, 

May be sending a sweet refrain, 
And gladdening the lives of the lowly, 

Though we hear not a single strain. 

Our work may seem but a discord, 

Though we do the best we can ; 
But others will hear the music, 

If we carry out God's plan. 

The Congregationalism 



Believe in God ; trust God by obedience to the 
uttermost ; trust Him for a way when there is no way, 
for light when there is no light, for all things when 
you have nothing, for joy when there is only sorrow, 
for life when you are in the midst of death ; thus you 
will find at last that faith is not only righteousness, 
but life and joy and peace. 

Theodore T. Munger. 



MARCH 5. 



69 



But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long- 
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, tem- 
perance. — Gal. v, 22, 23. 

Plant in us an humble mind, 
Patient, pitiful, and kind ; 
Meek and lowly let us be, 
Full of goodness, full of Thee. 

Charles Wesley, 

The state of mind, which is described as meekness, 
or quietness of spirit, is characterized in a high degree 
by inward harmony. There is not, as formerly, that 
inward jarring of thought contending with thought, 
and conscience asserting rights which it could not 
maintain. 

T. C. Upham. 



I believe that no Divine truth can truly dwell in 
any heart without an external testimony in manner, 
bearing, and appearance, that must reach the witness 
within the heart of the beholder, and bear an unmis- 
takable though silent evidence to the eternal principle 
from which it emanates. 

M, A, SCHIMMELPENNINCK. 



70 



March 6. 



Freely ye have received, freely give. — Matt, x, 8. 



O sunbeam glad, may I like thee 
Give all my cheer and brightness free, 
And help through all life's cloud and cold 
Some drooping heart unfold its gold. 



The man or woman who learns to give in the right 
spirit forgets all about the duty in the privilege, and 
the absence of life's necessities would bring no such 
distress as to be cut off from this luxury. 

Anonymous. 



You know that to give alms is nothing, unless you 
give thought also ; and that therefore it is written, not 
" Blessed is he that feedeth the poor," but " Blessed is 
he that considereth the poor." And you know that a 
little thought and kindness are often worth more than 
a great deal of money. 

RUSKIN. 



9 



March 7. 



71 



But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice ; 
let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest 
them: let them also that love Thy name be joyful in 
Thee.— Ps. v, n. 

It is a comely fashion to be glad, 
Joy is the grace we say to God. 

Jean Ixgelow. 

The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, joy. 
Righteousness, of course, is just doing what is right. 
Any boy who does what is right has the kingdom of 
God within him. Any boy who, instead of being 
quarrelsome, lives at peace with the other boys, has 
the kingdom of God within him. Any boy whose 
heart is filled with joy because he does what is right, 
has the kingdom of God within him. The kingdom 
of God is not going to religious meetings, and hear- 
ing strange religious experiences : the kingdom of 
God is doing what is right — living at peace with all 
men, being filled with joy in the Holy Ghost. 

Henrv Drummoxd. 

All god-like things are joyous. They have touched 
God, and so they carry with them an irresistible glad- 
ness everywhere. 

F. W. Faber. 



72 



March 8. 



A man that hath friends must show himself 
friendly. — Prov. xviii, 24. 



Ah, friends ! dear friends — if any such there be — 
Keep not your loving thoughts away from me 

Till I am gone ; 
I want them now to help me on my way, 
As lonely watchers want the light of day 

Ere it is morn. 

D. F. Hodges. 



There are three friendships which are good, and 
three which are injurious. Friendship with the up- 
right ; friendship with the sincere ; and friendship 
with the man of observation — these are advantageous. 
Friendship with the man of specious airs ; friendship 
with the insinuatingly soft ; and friendship with the 
glib-tongued — these are injurious. 

Would you have and hold a friend whose friend- 
ship is advantageous ? Be honest, sincere, and faith- 
ful yourself. No one can have a true friend who has 
not within himself the elements of true friendship. 
Deceit, doubt, double-dealing, and fraud never yet 
cemented a friendship. 

Confucius. 



Reveal not to a friend every secret that you possess, 
for how can you tell but what he may some time or 
other be your enemy. 



March 9. 



73 



Whosoever will come after me. let him deny him- 
self, and take up his cross and follow me. — Mark 
viii, 34. 



'Tis my happiness below 

Not to live without the cross. 
But the Saviour's power to know, 

Sanctifying every loss : 
Trials must and will befall ; 

But with humble faith to see 
Love inscribed upon them all, 

This is happiness to me. 

William Cowper. 



Christ comes to us morning by morning to present 
to us for the day then opening divers little crosses, 
thwartings of our own will, interferences with our 
plans, disappointments of our little pleasures. Do 
we take them up and follow in His rear, like Simon 
the Cyrenean, or do we toss them from us scornfully 
because they are so little, and wait for some great 
affliction to approve our patience and resignation to 
His will ? Despise not little crosses ; for when taken 
up and lovingly accepted at the Lord's hand, they 
have made men meet for a great crown, even the 
crown of righteousness and life, which the Lord hath 
promised to them that love Him. 

Edward Mevrick Gouldburx. 



74 



March io. 



Blessed are the pure in heart ; for they shall see 
God.— Matt, v, 8. 



He who to run life's race doth dare 
With wrong at heart, though fleet he flees, 

He may not win although he wear 
The sandals of Hippomenes. 

But he who keeps a stainless soul, 

Albeit by pain and trial shod, 
Will reach at last the priceless goal 

That stands before the throne of God. 

Clinton Scollard. 



How does Jesus make men pure ? He made Him- 
self one with our human nature that He might heal 
and bless it through contact with His divinity. He 
folded it around His eternal presence. He made it 
His own. He made it a power which could quicken 
and restore us ; and then by the gift of His Spirit He 
bound us to it, He robed us in it ; and henceforth 
Christian humanity became conscious of a Presence 
before which the unclean spirit cannot but shrink 
away. 

Canon Liddon. 



March ii. 



75 



The communion of the Holy Ghost be with you 
all. — II Cor. xiii, 14. 

Alone with Thee ! alone with Thee I 

Now through my breast 
There steals a breath, like breath of balm, 
That healing brings, and holy calm. 
That soothes like chanted song or psalm,, 

And makes me blest. 

Alone with Thee ! alone with Thee ! 

My softened heart 
Floats on the flood of love divine. 
Feels all its wishes drowned in Thine ; 
Content that every good is mine 

Thou canst impart. Ray Palmer. 

Nothing is more under our control than the amount 
of this voluntary communion with God; 

14 Misfortunes, do the best we can, 
Will come to great and small." 

We cannot help that, but we can progressively en- 
large the amount of inspiration we receive from 
Heaven, spite of the disappointments and sorrows 
of life ; nay, by means thereof. And we may live so 
that all our daily life shall be a continual approach 
and mounting up toward God. What is the noblest 
life ? Not that born in the most famous place, acquir- 
ing wealth and fame and rank and power over matter 
and over men : but that which, faithful to itself con- 
tinually, holds communion with the Infinite, and, 
thence receiving of God's kind, in mortal life displays 
the truth, the justice, holiness, and love of God. 

" O. blessed be our trials then, 
This deep in which we lie ; 
And blessed be all things that teach 
God's dear Infinity/' 

Theodore Parker. 



7 6 



And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk 
in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His command- 
ments, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is 
written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper 
in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest 
thyself. — I Kings ii, 3. 

Men judge actions always by events 
But when we manage by a just foresight, 
Success is prudence, and possession right. 

HlGGONS. 

Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control, 
These three alone lead life to sovereign power. 

Tennyson. 

We owe one-half our success in this world to some 
circumstance, and the other half to taking the cir- 
cumstance on the wing. Century. 

The nerve which never relaxes, the eye which 
never blanches, the thought which never wanders — 
these are the masters of victory. What Wins. 

If you wish success in life, make perseverance 
your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, 
caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian 
genius. Addison. 

Advise well before you begin : and when you have 
decided, act promptly. Sallust. 

When you are aspiring to the highest place, it is 
honorable to reach the second or even the third rank. 

Cicero. 



March 13. 



77 



Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he. — Prov. 
xvi, 20. 



Thou know'st not what is good for thee, 

But God doth know ; 
Let Him thy strong reliance be, 

And rest thee so. 

C. F. Gellert. 



Nothing is small or great in God's sight ; whatever 
wills becomes great to us, however seemingly 
trifling, and if once the voice of conscience tells us 
that He requires anything of us, we have no right to 
measure its importance. On the other hand, what- 
ever He would not have us do, however important 
we may think it, is as naught to us. How do you 
know what you may lose by neglecting this duty, 
which you think so trifling, or the blessing which its 
faithful performance may bring ? Be sure that if you 
do your very best in that which is laid upon you 
daily, you will not be left without sufficient help when 
some weightier occasion arises. Give yourself to 
Him, trust Him, fix your eye upon Him, listen to His 
voice, and then go on bravely and cheerfully. 

Jean Nicolas Grou. 



Our duty is to be useful, not according to our 
desires, but according to our powers. 

Henri Fre:d£ric Amiel. 



78 



March 14. 



Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, 
and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all 
malice. — Eph. iv, 31. 



Abuse of others is a losing game ; 
The ill we say produces only ill, 
Upon the speaker's head recoiling still. 



Oh ! that the too censorious world would learn 
This wholesome rule, and with each other bear ! 
But man, as if a foe to his own species, 
Takes pleasure to report his neighbor's faults, 
Judging with rigor every small offense, 
And prides himself in scandal. Few there are 
Who, injured, take the part of the transgressor, 
And plead his pardon ere he deigns to ask it. 

John Haywood. 

The mischief of children is seldom actuated by 
malice ; that of grown-up people always is. 

Rivarol. 



Malice is of the boomerang character, and is apt to 
turn upon the projector. 

Thackeray. 



With malice toward none, with charity for all, with 
firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, 
let us strive to finish the work we have begun. 

Lincoln. 



March 15. 



79 



Blessed is he whose conscience hath not condemned 
him, and who is not fallen from his hope in the 
Lord. — Eccl. xiv, 2. 

This, above all, to thine own self be true ; 
And it must follow, as the night the day, 
Thou canst not then be false to any man. 

Shakespeare. 

Not all the glory, all the praise, 

That decks the prosperous hero's days, 

The shout of men, the laurel crown, 

The pealing echoes of renown, 

May conscience's dreadful sentence drown. 

Mrs. Holford. 

To disobey conscience is to commit the last dis- 
loyalty. It is to learn to be untrue to yourselves. All 
sins may be condoned but that. If you are untrue to 
yourselves, you must reap terrible consequences. 
Conscience will make mistakes if you have been 
careless about educating it ; but, mistake or no mis- 
take, its commands are peremptory, and it must be 
obeyed. . . . Illuminate conscience, reinforce con- 
science, educate conscience as well as you can, but 
recollect that in the last resort it is a peremptory 
judge, that it is better to obey it, mistaken even if it 
be in some degree, than to disobey it and run the risk 
of thereby passing over a judgment, the nearest 
representative for us of the judgment of God. You 
may say to me, when I urge you to this exact and 
earnest obedience, that I am actually asking you to 
precipitate yourselves, at any rate sometimes, into the 
gulf of sheer loss. . . . Duty done is never sheer 
loss. Self-interest demands something else, but, be- 
lieve me, you and I live in a world of eternity, and 
the passing conditions of a passing time are no 
measurement of the final effects of that which is done 
by a being that shall live for ever. 

W. J. Knox-Little. 



So 



March 16. 



Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your 
heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. — Ps. xxxi, 24. 



Fight the fight, Christian, 

Jesus is o'er thee ; 
Run the race, Christian, 

Heaven is before thee ; 
He who hath promised 

Faltereth never ; 
He who hath loved so well, 

Loveth for ever. 



The best sort of bravery — the courage to do right. 

Louisa M. Alcott. 

Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards : 
they simply unveil them to the eyes of men. Silently 
and imperceptibly as we wake or sleep, we grow and 
wax strong, we grow and wax weak ; and at last some 
crisis shows us what we have become. 

Canon Westcott. 

God sees heroes where the world sees only very 
humble people. 



March 17. 



81 



And when He had sent the multitudes away, He 
went up into a mountain apart to pray. — Matt. xiv. 23. 

When one that holds communion with the skies 
Has bathed his lips where those pure fountains rise, 
And once more mingles with us meaner things, 
'Tiseven as if an angel shook his wings. 

u Solitude," says an ancient Rabbi, " is the audience 
chamber of God;" and he who would know the 
Divine will must sit silent at his Maker's feet. The 
need of such retirement now and then, the best men 
that ever lived have felt and owned ; and in deep 
seclusion, with much fasting and watching and prayer, 
they gathered strength for duty, and acquired fortitude 
for the day of trial. Then let us not forget that we 
live for others ; and that, while society is the chief 
scene of action, solitude is the best school for prepara- 
tion. There are streams which float the commerce 
of the world through half a continent, whose fountains 
are in the unexplored depth of the forest or the inac- 
cessible clefts of the mountains ; and so the beneficent 
influence of good men's lives on their own and future 
ages often has its origin in some secret thought, some 
private reading, some twilight meditation, some pur- 
pose conceived in solitude, some sacred vow which 
none but God hath heard. In the great congregation 
we hear the truth, but in the quiet of the home and 
the chambers of the heart we ponder its evidences 
and its meaning, and acquire those convictions which 
give it power over our actions, and incorporate it with 
our own experiences till we are thoroughly furnished 
unto every good work. 

Joseph Cross. 

6 



82 



March 18. 



For the Lord seeth not as man seeth ; for man 
looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord 
looketh on the heart. — I Sam. xvi, 7. 

Dare we condemn the ills that others do? 

Dare we condemn ? 
Their strength is small, their trials not a few ; 
The tide of wrong is difficult to stem, 
And if to us more clearly than to them 
Is given knowledge of the good and true, 
More do they need our help, and pity too. 
Dare we condemn ? 

God help us all, and lead us day by day ! 

God help us all ! 
We cannot walk alone the narrow way ; 
Evil allures us, and we fall. 
We are but human and our strength is small. 
Not one of us may boast, and not a day 
Rolls o'er our heads but each has need to say 
God help us all ! 

In every life there are mistakes and sins. The 
holiest do not live perfectly. The strongest are liable 
to fall in sudden and unexpected temptation. The 
wisest will commit grave errors and follies at some 
time. We should know well in such cases how to 
deal with our sins. They must not be simply self- 
condoned and left lying in the path behind us while 
we hurry on, nor must they bring despair to our hearts 
as we sorrow over them ; they must be sincerely and 
heartily repented of, and forgiveness for them sought 
at the feet of Him we have offended and grieved. 
Then we must rise from disaster and defeat, stronger, 
purer, nobler, through Christ victorious over our own 
sins and a conquerer over our own defeat. 



March 19. 



83 



We then that are strong ought to bear the infirm- 
ities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. For 
even Christ pleased not Himself— Rom. xv, 1-3. 

If on our daily course our mind 
Be set to hallow all we find, 
New treasures still of countless price 
God will provide for sacrifice. 

The trivial round, the common task, 
Will furnish all we ought to ask : 
Room to deny ourselves : a road 
To bring us daily nearer God. 

John Keble. 

Look carefully into it, and you will find that many 
offenses against society and many sins against God 
have their origin because of want of self-denial. I 
am not sure but I could put it stronger than that, and 
say that almost all, if not all, the crimes against the 
State, and disobedience to God's requirements, have 
their origin in want of self-denial. 

By persisting in a habit of self-denial, we shall, be- 
yond what I can express, increase the inward powers 
of the mind, and shall produce that cheerfulness and 
greatness of spirit as will fit us for good purposes ; 
and shall not have lost pleasure, but changed it ; the 
soul being then filled with its own intrinsic pleasures, 

Henry More. 

Every man and woman trying to be honest, pure, 
and helpful in this world finds that the very highest 
work set before them is self-sacrifice. V ery few of us 
have the chance of heroic self-devotion, but every day 
brings the petty, wearing sacrifice which weighs full 
weight in God's scales, 

Samuel Osgood. 



8 4 



March 20. 



Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall 
enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth 
the will of my Father which is in heaven. — Matt. 
vii, 2x. 

He always wins who sides with God, 

To him no chance is lost ; 
God's will is sweetest to him when 

It triumphs at his cost. 

Faber, 1832. 

We must be continually sacrificing our own wills, 
as opportunity serves, to the will of others ; bearing, 
without notice, sights and sounds that annoy us ; set- 
ting about this or that task, when we had far rather 
be doing something very different ; persevering in it, 
often, when we are thoroughly tired of it ; keeping 
company for duty's sake, when it would be a great joy 
to us to be by ourselves ; besides all the trifling un- 
toward accidents of life ; bodily pain and weakness 
long continued, and perplexing us often when it does 
not amount to illness ; losing what we value, missing 
what we desire ; disappointment in other persons, 
willfulness, unkindness, ingratitude, folly in cases 
where we least expect it. 

J. Keble. 



March 21. 



85 



That the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the 
work of thine which thou doest. — Deut. xiv, 29. 

Be useful where thou livest, that they may 
Both want and wish thy pleasing presence still. 

Kindness, good parts, great places are the way 
To compass this. Find out men's wants and will 

And meet them there. All worldly joys go less 

To the one joy of doing kindliness. 

George Herbert. 

It is a great satisfaction, at the close of life, to be 
able to look back on the years that are past, and to 
feel that you have lived not for yourself alone, but 
that you have been useful to others. You may be 
assured also that the same feeling is a source of com- 
fort and happiness at any period of life. Nothing in this 
world is so good as usefulness. It binds your fellow- 
creatures to you, and you to them ; it tends to the im- 
provement of your own character, and it gives you a 
real importance in society, much beyond what any 
artificial station can bestow. 

Sir Benjamin Brodie. 

Three ends of thy being God hath placed before 
thee — to improve thyself, to glorify Him, and to be 
useful to thy fellow-creatures. Neglecting the first, 
thou art a barren cumberer of the ground ; the second, 
a faithless servant, and the third, a misanthrope to thy 
species. ... Be useful, and thus be blest and happy. 
Be useful, and honor thine own nature. 

Thomas Dick. 



86 



March 22. 



It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh 
my way perfect. — Ps. xviii, 32. 

I will show thee what thou shalt do. — I Sam. xvi, 3. 

I seek Thy aid, I ask direction, 
Teach me to do what pleaseth Thee 

I can bear toil, endure affliction, 
Only Thy leadings let me see. 

Axon. 

Be firm and true, if you would make 
Your life a grand success. 

Joy Allisox. 

The talent of success is nothing more than doing 
what you can well without a thought of fame. 

H. \Y. Longfellow. 

Accurate and careful detail, the minding of the 
common occasions and small things, combined with 
general scope and vigor, is the secret of all the 
efficiency and success in the world. It is only thus 
that any disciple will become efficient in the service 
of his Master. He cannot do up his works of useful- 
ness by the prodigious stir and commotion of a few 
extraordinary occasions. Laying down great plans, 
he must accomplish them by great industry, by minute 
attention, by working out his way as God shall assist 
him. 

Horace Bushnell. 

Most people would succeed in small things if they 
were not troubled with great ambitions. 

Longfellow. 



March 23. 



87 



Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth 
great things. — James iii, 5. 

But now ye rejoice in your boastings ; all such re- 
joicing is evil. — James iv, 16. 

We rise in Glory, as we sink in Pride, 
Where Boasting ends, there Dignity begins. 

Young. 

The honor's overpaid, 
When he that did the act is commentator. 

Shirley. 

We tarnish the splendor of our best actions by too 
often speaking of them. 

Hugh Blair. 

A boast is not only a proof of weakness of char- 
acter, but in its expression weakens still more the 
character. We cannot talk loudly of feeling without 
exhausting the latent strength of feeling. . . . Nor 
can any man boast of his future deeds without en- 
dangering his success when the trial comes. " That 
a man well intends he'll do it before he speaks." The 
boaster has fought a battle against an imaginary foe 
and won it, but when the real foe arrives he is sur- 
prised at the opposition he encounters. It was easy 
work in fancy ; it is terrible work in reality. The very 
knowledge that he has boasted confuses him ; he is 
troubled, strikes blindly, and flies. 

Stopford A. Brooke. 



88 



March 24. 



When He giveth quietness, who then can make 
trouble ? — Job xxxiv, 29. 

None of these things move me. — Acts xx, 24. 

I've many a cross to take up now, 

And many left behind ; 
But present troubles move me not, 

Xor shake my quiet mind. 
And what maybe to-morrow's cross 

I never seek to find : 
My Father says, ' ; Leave that to me, 

And keep a quiet mind." 

Axon. 

God hath provided a sweet and quiet life for His 
children, could they improve and use it; a calm and 
firm conviction in all the storms and troubles that are 
about them, however things go, to find content, and 
be careful for nothing. 

R. Leighton. 

As a result of this strong faith, the inner life of 
Catherine of Genoa was characterized, in a remark- 
able degree, by what may be termed rest, or quietude ; 
which is only another form of expression for true in- 
terior peace. It was not, however, the quietude of a 
lazy inaction, but the quietude of an inward acqui- 
escence ; not a quietude which feels nothing and does 
nothing, but that higher and divine quietude which 
exists by feeling and acting in the time and degree of 
Gods appointment and God's will. It was a principle 
in her conduct, to give herself to God in the discharge 
of duty ; and to leave all results without solicitude in 
His hands. 

T. C.Upham. 



March 25. 



89 



Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for 
the upright in heart. — Ps. xcvii, n. 

Let us therefore follow after the things which make 
for peace. — Rom. xiv, 19. 

There is a calm the poor in spirit know 
That softens sorrow and that sweetens woe ; 
There is a peace that dwells within the breast 
When all without is stormy and distrest ; 
There is a light that gilds the darkest hour, 
When danger thickens and when tempests lower ; 
That calm is faith, and hope and love is given ; 
That peace remains when all beside is riven ; 
That light shines down to man direct from heaven. 

James Edmeston. 

Nothing can produce so great a serenity of life as a 
mind free from guilt, and kept untainted, not only 
from actions, but purposes that are wicked. By this 
means the soul will be not only unpolluted, but not 
disturbed ; the fountain will run clear and unsullied, 
and the streams that flow from it will be just and 
honest deeds, ecstasies of satisfaction, a brisk energy 
of spirit, which makes a man an enthusiast in his joy, 
and a tenacious memory sweeter than hope. For as 
shrubs which are cut down with the morning dew 
upon them do for long time after retain their frag- 
rancy, so the good actions of a wise man perfume his 
mind, and leave a rich scent behind them. So that 
joy is, as it were, watered with these essences, and 
owes its flourishing to them. 

Plutarch. 



9 o 



March 26. 



But he that keepeth the law, happy is he. — Prov. 
xxix, iS. 

The happiness of human kind 

Consists in rectitude of mind, 

A will subdu'd to reason's sway, 

And passions practic'd to obey ; 

An open and a gen'rous heart, 

Refin' d from selfishness and art ; 

Patience which mocks at fortune's power. 

Silence is the perfectest herald of Joy : I were but 
little Happy, if I could say how much. 

Shakespeare. 

The Happiness of the human race in this world does 
not consist in our being devoid of Passions, but in 
our learning to command them. 

From the French. 

He must be Miserable who does not consider him- 
self Happy, although he could command the Uni- 
verse ; no man can be Happy who does not think 
himself so, for it signifies not how exalted soever your 
station may be, if it appears to you bad. 

Seneca. 

Contentment produces, in some measure, all those 
effects which the Alchemist usually ascribes to what 
he calls the Philosopher's Stone ; and if it does not 
bring Riches, it does the same thing by banishing the 
desire of them. 

Addison. 



March 27. 



91 



He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for 
His Name's sake. — Ps. xxiii, 3. 

He leadeth me ! Oh, blessed thought ! 
Oh, words with heavenly comfort fraught ! 
Whate'er I do, where'er I be, 
Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me. 

Sometimes 'mid scenes of deepest gloom, 
Sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom, 
By waters calm, o'er troubled sea, 
Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me. 

J. H. GlLMORE. 

Like Alpine climbers, our only safety is in stead- 
fastly fixing our gaze on Him, our Guide, and follow- 
ing step by step the path He trod, that He might 
know all the dangers and difficulties that beset our 
way. And we may be sure He will never lead us 
further or faster than we can safely follow. 

Rose Porter. 



9 2 



March 28. 



The Lord is my strength, and my shield ; my heart 
trusted in Him, and I am helped : therefore my heart 
greatly rejoiceth ; and with my song will I praise 
Him. — Ps. xxviii, 7. 

Be quiet, why this anxious heed 

About thy tangled ways ? 
God knows them all, He giveth speed, 

And He allows delays. 

E. W. 

Talk of hair-cloth shirts, and scourgings, and sleep- 
ing on ashes as means of saintship ! There is no need 
of them in our country. Let a woman once look at 
her domestic trials as her hair-cloth, her ashes, her 
scourges — accept them — rejoice in them — smile and 
be quiet, silent, patient, and loving under them — and 
the convent can teach her no more ; she is a victori- 
ous saint. 

Harriet Beecher Stowe. 

Nothing else but this seeing God in everything will 
make us loving and patient with those who annoy and 
trouble us. They will be to us then only the instru- 
ments for accomplishing His tender and wise purposes 
toward us, and we shall even find ourselves at last 
inwardly thanking them for the blessings they bring 
us. Nothing else will completely put an end to all 
murmuring or rebelling thoughts. 

H. W. S. 



March 29. 



93 



And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after 
me, is not worthy of me. — Matt, x, 38. 

The cross is not so hard to bear 

Since I have learned to say, 
O Lord, I walk not anywhere 

Unless Thou lead'st the way. 

S. R. Leroy. 

The Cross by which we are to stand confronts us in 
different forms. It is set up in different departments 
of our life. In business, when we have to witness for 
truth and integrity, to accept common poverty rather 
than violate Christian principle ; in society, showing 
ourselves on the side of Christ in matters of modesty, 
reverence, charity ; in domestic life, in bearing bereave- 
ment, or separation, or misunderstanding ; in our 
personal life, in a struggle with pride, self-love, or 
passion. 

A. C. A. Hall. 

To repel one's cross is to make it heavier. 

Henri Frederic Amiel. 



94 March 30. 



O taste and see that the Lord is good : blessed is 
the man that trusteth in Him. — Ps. xxxiv, 8. 

Working in you that which is well-pleasing in His 
sight. — Heb. xiii, 21. 

Whate'er God does is well ! 

In patience let us wait : 

He doth Himself our burdens bear, 

He doth for us take care, 

And He, our God, knows all our weary days. 

Come, give Him praise. 

B. Schmolck. 

We complain of the slow, dull life we are forced to 
lead, of our humble sphere of action, of our low po- 
sition in the scale of society, of our having no room 
to make ourselves known, of our wasted energies, of 
our years of patience. So do we say that we have no 
Father who is directing our life ; so do we say that 
God has forgotten us ; so do we boldly judge what life 
is best for us ; and so by our complaining do we lose 
the use and profit of the quiet years. O men of little 
faith ! Because you are not sent out yet into your 
labor, do you think God has ceased to remember you ? 
Because you are forced to be outwardly inactive, do you 
think you, also, may not be, in your years of quiet, 
" about your Father's business " ? ... It is a period 
given to us in which to mature ourselves for the work 
which God will give us to do. 

Stopford A. Brooke. 

Unconscious preparation is often made for a life 
work. 

Walter P. Stoddard. 



March 31. 



95 



Let us not therefore judge one another any more : 
but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling- 
block, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's way. — 
Rom. xiv, 13. 

Them that were entering in, ye hindered. — Luke 
xi, 52. 

Keep moving, keep moving, 

There's good work for all ; 
Put a hand to the plough, 

Or go back to the wall. 
The young men are coming, 

And old men grown gray. 
The world needs them all ; 

Friend, don't stand in the way, 

The Banner, 

The wail of sorrow-saddened hearts 

Forbids our standing still. 
So, if you cannot lend a hand, 

Make room for those who will 

William Brewster. 

A vexation arises, and our expressions of impa- 
tience hinder others from taking it patiently. Disap- 
pointment, ailment, or even weather depresses us ; 
and our look or tone of depression hinders others 
from maintaining a cheerful and thankful spirit. We 
say an unkind thing, and another is hindered in learn- 
ing the holy lesson of charity that thinketh no evil. 
We say a provoking thing, and our sister or brother 
is hindered in that day's effort to be meek. How 
sadly, too, we may hinder without word or act ! For 
wrong feeling is more infectious than wrong-doing ; 
especially the various phases of ill temper — gloomi- 
ness, touchiness, discontent, irritability — do we not 
know how catching these are ? F. R. Havergal. 



9 6 



April i. 



We have waited for Him, and He will save us : 
this is the Lord ; we have waited for Him, we will be 
glad in His salvation. — Isa. xxv, 9. 

I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered 
me from all my fears. — Ps. xxxiv, 4. 

Be Thou, O Rock of Ages, nigh ! 

So shall each murmuring thought be gone ; 
And grief and fear and care shall fly, 

As clouds before the mid-day sun. 

C. Wesley. 

The art of forgetting is a blessed art ; but the art 
of overlooking is quite as important. And if we 
should take time to write down the origin, progress, 
and outcome of a few of our troubles, it would make 
us so ashamed of the fuss w T e make over them that 
we would be glad to drop such things, and bury them 
at once in eternal forgetfulness. 

Adversity borrows its sharpest sting from our im- 
patience. 

Bishop Horne. 

Most of our misfortunes are more supportable than 
the comments of our friends upon them. 

C. C. Colton. 

Speaking of worrying, which kills more people than 
disease, keep a record for a month, and see if you 
do not worry over a great many things that turn out 
all right. And a matter that occasionally causes you 
worry turns out to be particularly fortunate. 



April 2. 



97 



For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor 
from the west, nor from the south ; but God is the 
judge : He putteth down one, andsetteth up another. — 
Ps. lxxv, 6, 7. 

Happy the man who sees a God employ' d 
In all the good and ill that checker life ! 
Resolving all events, with their effects 
And manifold results, into the will 
And arbitration wise of the Supreme. 
Did not His eye rule all things, and intend 
The least of our concerns (since from the least 
The greatest oft originate) : could chance 
Find place in his dominion, or dispose 
One lawless particle to thwart his plan ; 
Then God might be surprised, and unforeseen 
Contingence might alarm him, and disturb 
The smooth and equal course of his affairs. 

William Cowper. 

Nothing with God can be accidental. 

Longfellow. 

How mysterious are the ways of Providence ! Why 
did I receive grace and mercy? Why was I pre- 
served, afflicted for my good, received, as I trust, into 
favor, and blessed with the greatest happiness I can 
ever know or hope for in this life, while others were 
overtaken by the great arrest, unawakened, unrepent- 
ing, and every way unprepared for it ? His infinite 
wisdom, to whose infinite mercy I owe it all, can solve 
these questions, and none beside Him. If I am con- 
vinced that no affliction can befall me without the per- 
mission of God, I am convinced, likewise, that He sees 
and knows that I am afflicted. Believing this, I must 
in the same degree believe that, if I pray to Him for 
deliverance, He hears me ; I must needs know like- 
wise with equal assurance that, if He hears, He will 
also deliver me, if that will, upon the whole, be most 
conducive to my happiness ; and if He does not de- 
liver me, I maybe well assured that He has none but 
the most benevolent intention in declining it. 

William Cowper. 



7 



9 8 



April 3. 



Take heed, and be quiet ; fear not. — Isa. vii, 4. 



Be still and know, thou child beloved, 

And, waiting, be thy strugglings stayed. 
Be still and know that I am God, 

Strong to sustain, present to aid. 
Though foes assail, though heathen rage, 

Thy God will still exalted be ; 
In majesty will He arise 

And in His might deliver thee. 

Be still and know ! 'tis God doth speak, 

Hide here thy tremblings, mine alarms, 
Upholden for His honor's sake 

Within the Everlasting Arms. 
For never shall the heathen say 

That thou hast trusted Him in vain ; 
In stillness let thy waiting be 

And safe in Him shalt thou remain. 



Do you know what Luther said? "Suffer and be 
still, and tell no man thy sorrow; trust in God — His 
help will not fail thee." This is what Scripture calls 
keeping silence before God. To talk much of one's 
sorrows makes one weak ; but to tell one's sorrows 
to Him who heareth in secret, makes one strong and 
calm. 

Tholuck. 

Kind thoughts will often suggest a silence which 
has not been demanded. The suggestion that it might 
be better not to repeat something is one that should 
never be disregarded. 



April 4 



99 



For the joy of the Lord is your strength. — Neh. viii, 
10. 

Never flinched they from the flame, 

From the torture never ; 
Vain the foeman's sharpest aim, 

Satan's best endeavor. 
For by faith they saw the land 

Decked in all its glory, 
Where triumphant now they stand 

With the victor's story. 

Desponding Christians win no battles. They are 
fitter for the hospital than the battle-field. Gods 
heroes have been girded and inspired for heroic en- 
deavor by this divine tonic of joy. Paul holds on his 
way through stripes and imprisonment, fastings and 
shipwrecks, never halting till he lays down his life for 
the Master he loved. No man can read his letters 
and not discover that the joy of the Lord was his 
strength. Military commanders know how much is 
dependent on the spirits of their soldiers. . . . Noth- 
ing so braces the soul for life's conflict, nothing is so 
sure a prophecy of victory as a heart filled with " the 
joy of the Lord !" How may I obtain this joy ? The 
answer is very short, but very comprehensive — be 
faithful ! Happiness is a road-side flower. It grows 
beside the highway of obedience. It is a coy bless- 
ing, and oftenest comes by indirection. You are in- 
tent on duty and. lo ! you find joy. 

Dr. G. W. Brown. 



IOO 



April 5. 



Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me 
on every side. I will also praise Thee. — Ps. lxxi, 21, 
22. 

Great Minds, like Heaven, are pleased in doing Good, 
Though the ungrateful subjects of their favors 
Are barren in return. 

Rowe. 

The truly Generous is the truly wise, 
And he who loves not others, lives unblest. 

HORNE. 

There is as much Greatness of Mind in the owning 
of a good turn as in the doing of it ; and we must no 
more force a Requital out of season, than be wanting 
in it. 

Seneca. 

He only is Great who has the Habits of Greatness ; 
who, after performing what none in ten thousand 
could accomplish, passes on like Samson, and " tells 
neither father nor mother of it." 

Lavater. 

A Great Mind is above doing an unjust act, above 
giving way to Grief, above descending to Buffoonery ; 
and it would be invulnerable, if Compassion did not 
prey upon its- sensibility. 

La Bruye;re. 



APRIL 6. 



101 



If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in 
my love ; even as I have kept my Fathers command- 
ments, and abide in His love. — John xv, io. 

But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same 
shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. — 
Matt, v, 19. 

Were a star quenched on high, 

For ages would its light, 
Still traveling downward from the sky, 

Shine on our mortal sight. 

So when a great man dies, 

For years beyond our ken 
The light he leaves behind him lies 

Upon the paths of men. 

H. W. Longfellow. 

He is not great who is not greatly good. 

Shakespeare. 

Jesus is the Head of all the nobility of God, of all 
whom He considers noble for great thoughts, great 
deeds, great endurance, great love ; for all that God 
considers great. 

Philip Bennett Power. 

The Great, in affliction, bear a countenance more 
Princely than they are wont : for it is the temper of 
the highest Hearts, like the Palm-tree, to strive most 
upwards when it is most burdened. 

Sir Philip Sidney. 

What your heart thinks great is great ; the soul's 
emphasis is always right. 

R. W. Emerson. 

A man is great just in proportion to his superiority 
to the conditions of life in which he is placed. 

"Uncle Esek." 



102 



April 7. 



He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for 
His name's sake. — Ps. xxiii, 3. 

I do not ask, O Lord, that life may be 

A pleasant road ; 
I do not ask that Thou wouldst take from me 

Aught of its load : 
For one thing only, Lord, dear Lord, I plead, 

Lead me aright, 
Though strength should falter, and though heart should bleed, 

Through Peace to Light. 

A. A. Procter. 

We must not want to choose the place where we 
shall live, the work we shall do, the people and things 
we will have round us. All must be as God the Holy 
Spirit leads. But then we must remember that we 
must not always ask Him to lead us to bright, happy 
places, and to give us all things that naturally we 
would like to have. We must ask Him to lead us 
where it is best for us, and where it is God's will that 
we should go. It may be that He will take us into 
dull, quiet places, or into some place where we may 
have pain and sorrow. Perhaps we may be all alone, 
and so life will seem very like a wilderness. Well, 
never mind that, if it is where God leads us. So long 
as we pray and really wish the Holy Spirit to lead us 
we shall not come into any place that can really harm 
us, or have anything to suffer more than we can really 
bear. Fr. Osborne. 



April 8. 



My times are in Thy hand. — Ps. xxxi, 15. 

As God leads me. will I go, 

Nor choose my way ; 
Let Him choose the joy or woe 

Of every day : 
They cannot hurt my soul, 
Because in His control : 
I leave to Him the whole — 

His children may. 

L. Gedicke. 

We can't choose happiness either for ourselves or 
for another; we can't tell where that will lie. We 
can only choose whether we will indulge ourselves in 
the present moment, or whether we will renounce 
that, for the sake of obeying the Divine voice within 
us, for the sake of being true to all the motives that 
sanctify our lives. I know this belief is hard ; it has 
slipped away from me again and again ; but I have 
felt that, if I let it go forever, I should have no light 
through the darkness of this life. 

George Eliot. 

It is not by change of circumstances, but by fitting 
our spirits to the circumstances in which God has 
placed us, that we can be reconciled to life and duty. 

F. W. Robertson. 



104 



April 9. 



Let us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one 
another, envying one another. — Gal. v, 26. 

For where envy and strife is, there is confusion and 
every evil work. — James iii, 16. 

Envy, of all evil things the worst, 

The same to-day, to-morrow, and forever, 

Saps and consumes the heart in which it works. 

Cumberland. 

Envy will merit, as its shade, pursue ; 

But, like a shadow, proves the substance true. 

Alexander Pope. 

Envy is a kind of praise. 

Gay. 

Only one thing need the Christian truly envy — the 
large, rich, generous soul which " envieth not." 

Henry Drummond. 

Envy assails the noblest : the winds howl around 
the highest peaks. Ovid. 



April io. 



For the Lord shall be thy confidence. — Prov. iii, 26. 

Altho' the vine its fruit deny, 

The budding fig-tree droop and die, 

No oil the olive yield ; 
Yet will I trust me in my God, 
Yea, bend rejoicing to His rod, 

And by His grace be healed. 

In God my strength, howe'er distrest, 
I yet will hope, and calmly rest, 

Nay, triumph in His love ; 
My lingering soul, my tardy feet, 
Free as the hind He makes, and fleet, 

To speed my course above. 

Trust Him ; trust Him about every one and every- 
thing, for all times and all needs ; earth and heaven, 
the conquest of sin, the growth of holiness, the cross 
that chafes, the grace that stirs. To trust God glori- 
fies and honors Him. 

Thorold. 

Confidence is the secret of strength. 

Monad. 



io6 



April ii. 



The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and de- 
livered! them out of all their troubles. — Ps. xxxiv, 17. 

Let us be patient ! These severe afflictions 

Not from the ground arise, 
But oftentimes celestial benedictions 

Assume this dark disguise. 

Longfellow. 

Life is a progressive principle, and, in its progress 
to vigor and maturity, is often assisted by apparently 
adverse principles. The tree is frequently distressed 
that it may bear fruit ; man is inoculated with disease 
that he may preserve his health , and the Christian is 
called to endure affliction that his divine nature may 
be purified from earthly adhesions, and shine out the 
brighter and the stronger. 

Andrew Reed, D. D. 

The Lord gets His best soldiers out of the high- 
lands of affliction. 

Spurgeon. 



April 12. 



107 



I will be with thee : I will not fail thee, nor forsake 
thee. Be strong and of a good courage. — Josh, i, 5, 6. 

Blest proofs of power and grace divine, 

That meet us in His word ! 
May every deep-felt care of mine 

Be trusted Avith the Lord. 

Wait for His seasonable aid, 

And though it tarry, wait ; 
The promise may be long delay'd, 

But cannot come too late. 

William Cowper. 

Hast thou ever found that God hath dealt unfaith- 
fully with thee ? or didst thou ever hear that He hath 
dealt unfaithfully with any other ? There is no want 
of power in Him that He should not be as big as His 
word ; there is no want of love in Him that He should 
not be as good as His word. We are fleeting and 
mutable, off and on ; to-day not the same as yester- 
day, and to-morrow, perhaps, like neither of the days; 
yet He continueth yesterday, to-day, and the same 
forevermore. 

Bishop Sanderson. 



io8 



April 13. 



The trying of your faith worketh patience. But let 
patience have her perfect work, that ye may be per- 
fect and entire, wanting nothing. — James i, 3, 4. 



Faith's meanest deed more favor bears 
Where hearts and wills are weighed, 

Than brightest transports, choicest prayers, 
Which bloom their hour and fade. 

J. H. Newman. 

Nothing that is excellent can be wrought suddenly. 

Taylor. 



Without faith a man's future is dark and gloomy. 
The man of true faith never despairs. Faith is, as it 
were, the eye through which he sees the all-merciful 
Providence taking care of the least and the most in- 
significant of His creatures. And hence, in the midst 
of the severest trials, the believer in God does not 
lose his heart. 

The Bidba?ibadi. 



April 14. 



God is our refuge and strength, a very present help 
in trouble. — Ps. xlvi, r. 

Earth is sweet, but Heaven is sweeter ; 
Faith complete, but Love completer. 
Close beside our wandering ways, 
Through dark nights and weary days, 
Stand the angels with bright eyes. 

And the shadow of the cross 
Falls upon and sanctifies 

All our pain and all our loss. 
Though we stumble, though we fall, 
God is helping, after all. 

To believe that there is a God, to have a general 
recognition of His authority and power, to offer Him 
a certain heartless outward homage — this is not true 
religion, this will not profit a man in the day of his 
extremity. It is not sufficient to be able to say, kl O 
Lord ;" we must be able to add without presumption, 
" My God/' ... It is God's apprehending us that is 
our safety, it is our apprehending God that is our 
comfort. The child may be safe in its mother's lap 
while its little tiny arms do not cling to the mother's 
neck, but the child has a sweet apprehension of its 
safety when its little arms are twined round the neck 
of its parent. Even so is it with the Father in 
Heaven. . . . And, in order that we may know and 
use our privilege aright, there must be on our part a 
realizing of God as our God. We are taught to lay 
upon Him all our salvation, and to commit to Him 
all our care, to cast on Him every burden, to look to 
Him for every gift, to see His hand in every circum- 
stance, and to love that hand no less when it smites 
than when it sustains. Rev. Hugh Stowell. 



I 10 



April 15. 



Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of 
grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to 
help in time of need. — Heb. iv, 16. 

For earthly blessings, moderate be thy prayer 
And qualified : for light, for strength, for grace, 
Unbounded thy petition. 

Hannah More. 

As God knows all things, it is not in order that He 
may be informed of our wants that He has appointed 
prayer, nor is it to dispose and incline Him to show 
mercy, because God in Christ Jesus is self-moved by 
His love to His people to do this, but there are three 
principal reasons why God requires prayer in order 
to the bestowment of mercies on men. First, Thereby 
to acknowledge our dependence on Him ; for as God 
has made all things for His glory, so He will be 
glorified and acknowledged by His people especially, 
and it is fit He should require this of those who 
would be the subjects of His mercy. Second. To 
exercise and strengthen the Christian's graces. 
Prayer tends to strengthen faith, to increase love, 
humility, and patience, to invigorate hope, and bene- 
fit all the graces of the Spirit in the real believer ; 
and the more he prays in faith, the more all these 
graces grow. Thirdly, God requires prayer to make 
us more sensible of the value of the mercies we seek. 
If we were to have favors without asking for them, 
such is our depravity that we should think too lightly 
of them : but by being made to wait for them, and 
kept by faith in expectation of receiving them, when 
they come they are generally better received. Here- 
by is excited a sense of our need of the mercies we 
pray for. and the mind is better prepared to prize 
them when received, and to rejoice and be thankful 
for them when bestowed. Thus we have the greatest 
reason to bless the Lord that He has made prayer a 
duty, and we should pray that it may be made our 
delight. President Edwards. 



April 16. 



hi 



Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind 
is stayed on Thee : because he trusteth in Thee. — 
Isa. xxvi, 3. 

Grant us Thy peace throughout our earthly life, 
Our balm in sorrow, and our stay in strife ; 
Then when Thy voice shall bid our conflict cease, 
Call us, O Lord, to Thine eternal peace. 

John Ellerton. 

Christian peace ! is aught else than a glorified 
harmony — the expelling from mans life of all that 
was causing disturbance there, all that was hindering 
him from chiming in with the music of heaven. 

Archbishop Trench. 

One great sign of the practical recognition of the 
" divine moment," and of our finding God's habita- 
tion in it, is constant calmness and peace of mind. 
Events and things come with the moment ; but God 
comes with them, too. So that if He comes in the 
sunshine, we find rest and joy ; and if He comes in 
the storm, we know He is King of the storms, and 
our hearts are not troubled. God Himself, though 
possessing a heart filled with the tenderest feelings, 
is, nevertheless, an everlasting tranquillity ; and when 
we enter into His holy tabernacle, our souls neces- 
sarily enter into the tabernacle of rest. 

T. C. Upham. 



112 



APRIL 17. 



She hath done what she could. — Mark xiv, 8. 



He bade us do the thing we could — no more. 

Be heedful of our outward ways and deeds, 
Watch well our feet — that so He might outpour 

His Spirit for our spirit's inmost needs. 

Emily Pfeiffer. 



It does not need conspicuous things to make a life 
radiant in God's sight. Go out each day with a prayer 
on your lips, and be a blessing to every one you meet. 
Be a blessing, first, in your own home, to those who 
love you most. Then go with benedictions to every 
other life you meet or touch. Christ will show you 
the way. He will give you strength and wisdom for 
every place where they are required. 



In Thy book, O Lord, are written all those that do 
what they can, though they cannot do what they 
would. 

Saint Augustine. 



April 18. 



113 



For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, 
and His ears are open unto their prayers. — I Peter 
iii, 12. 

More things are wrought by prayer 

Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice 

Rise like a fountain for me night and day. 

For what are men better than sheep and goats, 

That nourish a blind life within the brain, 

If knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer, 

Both for themselves and those who call them friend? 

For so, the whole round earth is every way 

Bound by gold chains about the feet of God. 

Lord Tennyson. 

If you have any trial which seems intolerable, pray — 
pray that it be relieved or changed. There is no harm 
in that. We may pray for anything, not wrong in 
itself, with perfect freedom, if we do not pray selfishly. 
One disabled from duty by sickness may pray for 
health, that he may do his work ; or one hemmed in 
by internal impediments may pray for utterance, that 
he may serve better the truth and the right. Or, if 
we have a besetting sin, we may pray to be delivered 
from it, in order to serve God and man, and not be 
ourselves Satans to mislead and destroy. But the 
answer to the prayer may be, as it was to Paul, not 
the removal of the thorn, but, instead, a growing in- 
sight into its meaning and value. The voice of God 
in our soul may show us, as we look up to Him, that 
His strength is enough to enable us to bear it. 

J. F. Clarke. 

8 



H4 



April 19. 



I must work the works of Him that sent me, while 
it is day ; the night cometh, when no man can work. — 
John ix, 4. 

All cannot charge or lead the van ; 

All can be brave and true ; 
And where the Captain's standards wave 

There's work for all to do ; 
And work from which thou mayst not flee, 
Which must be done, and done by thee. 

Be sure that every one of you has his place and 
vocation on this earth, and that it rests with himself 
to find it. . . . Be thorough in all you do. and remem- 
ber that, though ignorance often be innocent, preten- 
sion is always despicable. But you, like men. be 
strong and exercise your strength. Work onward 
and work upward, and may the blessing of the Most 
High soothe your cares, clear your vision, and crown 
your labors with reward, 

W. E. Gladstone. 

Remember now and always that life is no idle 
dream, but a solemn reality, based upon eternity and 
encompassed by eternity. Find out your task, stand 
to it; for the night cometh. when no man can work. 

Thomas Carlyle. 



April 20. 



1 1 s 



Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned 
with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer 
every man. — Col. iv, 6. 

'Tis easy enough to be pleasant 

When life flows along like a song, 
But the man worth while is the one who will smile 

When everything goes dead wrong ; 
For the test of the heart is trouble, 

And it always comes with the years, 
And the smile that is worth the praises of earth, 

Is the smile that shines through tears. 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

All usefulness and all comfort may be prevented by 
an unkind, a sour, crabbed temper of mind — a mind 
that can bear with no difference of opinion or temper- 
ament. A spirit of fault-finding ; an unsatisfied temper ; 
a constant irritability ; little inequalities in the look, 
the temper, or the manner ; a brow cloudy and dis- 
satisfied — your home folks cannot tell why — will more 
than neutralize all the good you can do, and render 
life anything but a blessing. 

Albert Barnes. 



i r 6 



April 21. 



For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. — Prov. 
xxiii, 7. 

Only a thought ; but the work it wrought 
Could never by pen or tongue be taught ; 
For it ran through a life like a thread of gold, 
And the life bore fruit a hundredfold. 

Make yourselves nests of pleasant thoughts. None 
of us yet know, for none of us have been taught in 
early youth, what fairy palaces we may build of beau- 
tiful thought — proof against all adversity. Bright 
fancies, satisfied memories, noble histories, faithful 
sayings, treasure-houses of precious and restful 
thoughts, which care cannot disturb, nor pain make 
gloomy, nor poverty take away from us — houses built 
without hands, for our souls to live in. 

J. Ruskin. 

When you sometimes find in books advice or ex- 
ample that you think may be of service to you, take 
care to copy and consult as an oracle. Do as much for 
the good of your soul. Engrave in your memory, 
and even write down the counsels and precepts that you 
hear or read . . . then, from time to time, study this 
little collection, which you will not prize the less that 
you have made it all yourself. Books written by others 
in time become wearisome to us, but of those we write 
ourselves we never tire. And it will be yours, this 
collection of thoughts chosen, because you liked them ; 
counsels you have given yourself; moral receipts you 
have discovered, and of which, perhaps, you have 
proved the efficacy. 

Gold Dust. 



April 22. 



117 



Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy 
might. — Eccles. ix, 10. 

Dare to do right ! Dare to be true ! 
You have a work that no other can do ; 
Do it so bravely, so kindly, so well, 
Angels will hasten the story to tell. 

Dare to do right ! Dare to be true ! 
Other men's failures can never save you, 
Stand by your conscience, your honor, your faith ; 
Stand like a hero, and battle till death. 

Simply to do what we ought is an altogether higher, 
diviner, more potent, more creative thing than to write 
the grandest poem, paint the most beautiful picture, 
carve the mightiest statue, dream out the niost en- 
chanting commotion of melody and harmony. 

A man is relieved and gay when he has put his 
heart into his work, and done his best ; but what he 
has said or done otherwise shall give him no peace. 

R. W. Emerson. 



nS 



April 23. 



And the work of righteousness shall be peace : and 
the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance 
forever. — Isa. xxxii. 17. 



I would be quiet, Lord ! 

Nor tease nor fret ; 
Not one small need of mine 

Wilt Thou forget. 

Julia C. R. Dorr. 



They make no fuss about it — the stars set like 
lamps in the skies — but they shine on steadily, quietly. 
We always know where to hnd them, and what to 
count on, They are illustrations of the quiet lives, 
set out here and there along the dark sea of life's 
voyage : making no noise or ado. asking no puff or 
recognition, thev work on dav bv dav. vear in and 
year out. with a beautiful self-abnegation and thought- 
ful devotion to the world's leavening. Into the quiet 
heavens where they dwell run the weary and heavy- 
laden for soothing and healing. Every neighborhood 
has them, and in its barren wastes and dust}' ways 
they are like the unpretentious blossoms, whose white 
faces and sweet fragrance make the world bright 
and beautiful. It is good for us to have been so much 
and so constantly with the Master as to have come 
to His place of gentle ministry and self-giving service, 
where the unheralded bit of service for the troubled 
and needy is sweeter to us than any applause or fame 
the world can give to its heroes. 



April 24. 



119 



Let us not therefore judge one another any more. — 
Rom. xiv, 13. 

Judge not ; the workings of his brain 
And of his heart thou canst not see ; 

What looks to thy dim eyes a stain 
In God's pure light may only be 

A scar, brought from some well-won field, 

Where thou wouldst only faint and yield. 

Adelaide A. Procter. 

A saint's life in one man maybe less than common 
honesty in another. From us, whose consciences He 
has reached and enlightened, God may look for a 
martyr's truth, a Christian's unworldly simplicity, be- 
fore He will place us on a level even with the average 
of the exposed classes. We perhaps think our lives 
at least harmless. We do not consider what He may 
think of them, when compared with the invitations 
of His that we have slighted, with the aims of His 
providence we are leaving without our help, with the 
glory for ourselves we are refusing and casting away, 
with the vast sum of blessed work that daily faithful- 
ness in time can rear without overwork on any single 
day. 

J. H. Thom. 



120 



April 25. 



Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? and why art 
thou disquieted in me ? hope thou in God ; for I 
shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. 
— Ps. xlii, 5. 

Oh, my soul, why art thou vexed? 

Let things go e'en as they will ; 
Though to thee they seem perplexed, 

Yet His order they fulfill. 

A. H. Francke. 

The many troubles in your household will tend to 
your edification if you strive to bear them all in gen- 
tleness, patience, and kindness. Keep this ever be- 
fore you, and remember constantly that God's loving 
eyes are upon you amid all these little worries and 
vexations, watching whether you take them as He 
would desire. Offer up all such occasions to Him, 
and if sometimes you are put out, and give way to 
impatience, do not be discouraged, but make haste 
to regain your lost composure. 

Frances de Sales. 

Struggle diligently against your impatience, and 
strive to be amiable and gentle, in season and out of 
season, toward every one, however much they may 
vex and annoy you, and be sure God will bless your 
efforts. 

Frances de Sales. 



April 26. 



121 



The Lord heareth your murmurings, which ye mur- 
mur against Him. — Ex, xvi, 8. 

It never pays to fret or growl 

When fortune seems our foe ; 
The better bred will push ahead 

And strike the braver blow. 

For luck is work, and those who shirk 

Should not lament their doom ; 
But yield the play, and clear the way, 

That better men have room. 



It never pays ! A blunt refrain, 

Well worthy of a song, 
For age and youth must learn the truth 

That nothing pays that's wrong. 



The good and pure alone are sure 

To bring prolonged success ! 
While what is right in Heaven's sight 

Is always sure to bless. 

Anonymous. 

Not to murmur and complain at the mysteries of 
God's providence, but the more diligently to perform 
known duties, is the will of God concerning us. We 
may the more reasonably expect Him to clear up 
mysteries when He sees us careful, whatsoever He 
saith unto us, to do. 

Christian Home. 



122 



APRIL 27. 



Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One 
of Israel ; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee 
to profit, which leadeth thee by the way thou shouldest 
go. — Isa. xlviii, 17. 

The clouds hang heavy round way, 

I cannot see ; 
But through the darkness I believe 

God leadeth me. 
'Tis sweet to keep my hand in His 

While all is dim ; 
To close my wear}' , aching eyes, 

And follow Him. 

Through many a thorny path He leads 

My tired feet : 
Through many a path of tears I go, 

But it is sweet 
To know that He is close to me, 

My Guard, my Guide. 
He leadeth me, and so I walk, 

Quite satisfied. 

Cling fast to the hand that is leading you, though 
it be in darkness, though it be in deep waters — you 
know whom you have believed. Yield not for a single 
moment to misgivings about future storms. Infinite 
Love, joined to infinite skill, shall pilot the way through 
every strait and temptation. 

J. Alexander. 



April 28. 



123 



He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of 
thy cry ; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee. — 
Isa. xxx, 19. 

Of what an easy, quick access, 

My blessed Lord, art Thou ! how suddenly 

May our requests Thine ear invade ! 

To show that state dislikes not easiness, 

If I but lift mine eyes my suit is made ; 

Thou canst no more not hear than Thou canst die. 

George Herbet. 

Learn to entwine with your prayers the small cares, 
the trifling sorrows, the little wants of daily life. 
Whatever affects you — be it a changed look, an 
altered tone, an unkind word, a wrong, a wound, a 
demand you cannot meet, a change you cannot 
notice, a sorrow you cannot disclose — turn it into 
prayer and send it up to God. Disclosures you may 
not make to man, you can make to the Lord. Man 
may be too little for your great matters ; God is not 
too great for your small ones. Only give yourself to 
prayer, whatever be the occasion that calls for it. 

OCTAVIUS WlNSLOW. 

All the prayers of believers that are made in faith 
will be answered in kind or in value. 

Timothy Hall {Bishop of Oxford). 



April 29. 



Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery 
trial which is to try you, as though some strange 
thing happened unto you : but rejoice, inasmuch as 
ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings. — I Peter iv, 
12, 13. 

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, 
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply ; 
The flame shall not hurt thee ; I only design 
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine. 

Receive every inward and outward trouble, every 
disappointment, pain, uneasiness, temptation, dark- 
ness, and desolation, with both thy hands, as a true 
opportunity and blessed occasion of dying to self, and 
entering into a fuller fellowship with thy self-denying, 
suffering Saviour. Look at no inward or outward 
trouble in any other view ; reject every other thought 
about it ; and then every kind of trial and distress will 
become the blessed day of thy prosperity. That state 
is best which exerciseth the highest faith in and fullest 
resignation to God. 

William Law. 



April 30. 



125 



Serving the Lord with all humility. — Acts xx, 19. 

The bird that soars on highest wing 
Builds on the ground her lowly nest ; 

And she that doth most sweetly sing 
Sings in the shade when all things rest — 

In lark and nightingale we see 

What honor hath humility. 

James Montgomery. 

The only true independence is in humility ; for the 
humble man exacts nothing, and cannot be. mortified — 
expects nothing, and cannot be disappointed. Hu- 
mility is also a healing virtue ; it will cicatrize a thou- 
sand wounds which pride would keep forever open. 
But humility is not the virtue of a fool ; since it is not 
consequent upon any comparison between ourselves 
and others, but between what we are and what we 
ought to be — which no man ever was. 

Washington Allston. 

Wouldst thou taste to the full the sweetness of life ? 
Then keep thyself low at humility's feet. The 
sweetest of the cane is the part that grows nearest 
the earth. 

Feisi. 



126 



May i. 



But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their 
strength ; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; 
they shall run and not be weary ; and they shall walk 
and not faint. — Is a. xl, 31. 

The narrow way that leads up to heaven 
Must here through strife and tribulation lie ; 

Then on the thorny path may strength be given, 
This sinful flesh, O Lord, to crucify. 

O take this feebleness away, 

And make me strong to meet each future day ! 



Here daily crosses come to try our weakness, 
Here every member must a burden bear ; 

But, O my Saviour, if I take with meekness 
The cross appointed by Thy love and care, 

Too great, too long, it will not be, 

For it is weighed and measured out by Thee. 



So help me, Lord, Thy holy will to suffer, 

And still a learner at Thy feet to be ; 
Give faith and patience when the way is rougher, 

And at the end a joyful victory. 
Thus grief itself is changed to song 
Ofttimes on earth, but evermore ere long. 

Karl Heixrich vox Bogatzki. 



Affliction is a kind of moral gymnasium in which 
the disciples of Christ are trained to robust exercise, 
hardy exertion, and severe conflict. 

Hannah More. 

Affliction is a school of virtue ; it corrects levity, 
and interrupts the confidence of sinning. 

Francis Atterbury. 



May 2. 



127 



God loveth a cheerful giver. — II Cor. ix, 7. 

Cheerfulnesse 

Doth expresse 
A settled, pious mynde, 
Which is not prone to grudging, 
From murmuring refined. 

Anne Collins. 

If there is one element in the human mind or heart 
that we should be devoutly thankful for, it is a cheer- 
ful, happy disposition. To carry the sunshine with 
us means a great deal. It is not merely a boon to 
you or to me personally, but to all with whom we as- 
sociate. It reaches far beyond the limit of to-day's 
experience or labor, far into eternity. " God loveth 
a cheerful giver " does not necessarily imply the 
giver of money merely, but as truly applies to the 
willing, self-sacrificing spirit, that fain would succor 
all in distress, mentally or physically. That would 
give ready sympathy ; pour balm on aching hearts ; 
lend a helping hand cheerfully, not grudgingly, but 
in a genial way that makes the one you rescue, per- 
haps, feel that there really is some one that forgets 
self gladly, and would equally assist to make the 
rough places in life smooth. To carry a cheerful face, 
and speak brave, encouraging words, often costs 
great effort. God knows and sees each one's trials, 
and is ever ready to brighten the way for each strug- 
gling one. It is possible for all to be cheerful, and the 
greater the effort the greater the victory gained. 

L. E. N. 



May 3. 



128 



The cup which my Father has given me, shall I 
not drink it? — John xviii, 11. 



Hold in thy murmurs Heaven arraigning ! 

The patient see God's loving face ; 
Who bear their burdens uncomplaining, 

'Tis they that win the Father's grace. 

There is nothing in what has befallen or befalls 
you which justifies impatience or peevishness. God 
is inscrutable, but not wrong. Remember if the cloud 
is over you that there is a bright light always on the 
other side ; also, that the time is coming, either in 
this world or the next, when that cloud will be swept 
away, and the fullness of God's light and wisdom 
poured around you. If your life is dark, then walk 
by faith ; and God is pledged to keep you as safe as 
if you could understand everything. 

Horace Bushnell. 

The vexation, restlessness, and impatience which 
small trials cause arise wholly from our ignorance 
and want of self-control. We may be thwarted and 
troubled, it is true, but these things put us into a con- 
dition for exercising patience and meek submission, 
and the self-abnegation wherein alone the fullness of 
God is to be found. 

De Renty. 



May 4. 



1 29 



Study to show thyself approved unto God, a work- 
man that needeth not to be ashamed. — II Tim. ii, 15. 

One by one thy duties wait thee, 

Let thy whole heart go to each, 
Let no future dream elate thee, 

Learn thou first what these can teach. 

Adelaide A. Procter. 

It is by doing our duty that we learn to do it. So 
long as men dispute whether or no a thing is their 
duty, they get never the nearer. Let them set ever 
so weakly about doing it, and the face of things alters. 
They find in themselves strength which they knew 
not of. Difficulties, which it seemed to them they could 
not get over, disappear. For He accompanies it 
with the influences of His blessed Spirit, and each 
performance opens our minds for larger influxes of 
His grace, and places them in communion with Him, 

E. B. Pusey. 

Deep-rooted customs, though wrong, are not easily 
altered ; but it is the duty of all to be firm in that 
which they certainly know is right for them. 

John Woolman. 

You have not fulfilled every duty unless you have 
fulfilled that of being pleasant. 

Charles Buxton. 

9 



i3° 



May 5. 



Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of 
my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my 
strength, and my redeemer. — Ps. xix, 14. 

Think truly, and thy thoughts 

Shall the world's famine feed ; 
Speak truly, and each word of thine 

Shall be a fruitful seed ; 
Live truly, and thy life shall be 

A great and noble creed. 

HORATIUS BONAR. 

" Evil is wrought by want of thought !" Thought- 
lessness is sin. " I didn't think " is no excuse. We 
should have thought. " I didn't mean " is a poor 
apology. With the blessed possibilities God has put 
into our hands we should be " thinking " and " mean- 
ing " all day long ; thinking how we can help, mean- 
ing to make our life a benediction to others. A frown 
will hurt. Scolding words will hurt. Silent neglect 
will hurt. A kind word, a gentle smile — and these 
cost so little — will cheer the sad and comfort the tired. 
And the blessedness of the whole matter is that the 
smile we throw to a little child will come back in 
radiance to illumine our own lives, and the kindly 
word will ring a chime of music in our own hearts. 
Let us write this motto on the portals of our life : 
" God helping me, I will help, not hurt my fellow- 
men r 



May 6. 



Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law 
of Christ. — Gal. vi, 2. 

When no low thoughts of self intrude, 

Angels adjust our rights ; 
And love that seeks its selfish good 

Dies in its own delights. 
How much we take, how little give — 

Yet every life is meant 
To help all lives : each man should live 

For all men's betterment. 

Alice Cary. 

But now God has so ordained it that we should 
learn to bear one another's burdens, for there is no 
one who has not some defect, no one without some 
burden, no one independent of others, no one wise 
enough of himself ; but we ought to bear with one 
another, comfort one another, help, instruct, and ad- 
vise one another. 

Thomas a-Kempis. 

Try always to see clearly that right is right, and 
wrong is wrong. Remember, in speaking to any one 
you want to help, the more earnest and unconscious 
of self you are, the better you will help them. Prob- 
ably the words you think most telling will affect them 
least, while those you think nothing of God will use 
for their good. Leave all results to God. 

T. T. Carter. 



I 3 2 



May 7. 



Be clothed with humility. — I Peter v, 5. 

Humility, that low, sweet root, 

From which all heavenly virtues shoot. 

Thomas Moore. 

Fairest and best adorned is she 
Whose clothing is humility. 

James Montgomery. 

Let one resolution be mine. Whatsoever else thou 
puttest on, be thou, O my soul, clothed with humility. 
Whatever else thou wearest, let this be the garment 
which wraps thee from head to foot, the nearest and 
closest of all. Exchange thou this for no other, 
though, to use the language of an Eastern sage, the 
mantle of Chosroes were offered thee in its stead. 

Richard Chenevix Trench. 

There is no true and constant gentleness without 
humility ; while we are so fond of ourselves, we are 
easily offended with others. Let us be persuaded that 
nothing is due to us, and then nothing will disturb us. 
Let us often think of our own infirmities, and we shall 
become indulgent toward those of others. 

FfiNELON. 



May 8. 



133 



If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted ac- 
cording to that a man hath, and not according to that 
he hath not. — II Cor. viii, 12. 

He who God's will has borne and done, 
And his own restless longings stilled ; 

What else he does, or has foregone, 
His mission he has well fulfilled. 

From the German. 

What was the secret of such a one's power ? What 
had she done ? Absolutely nothing ; but radiant 
smiles, beaming good-humor, the tact of divining 
what every one felt and what every one wanted, told 
that she had got out of self and learned to think of 
others ; so that at one time it showed itself in depreci- 
ating the quarrel, which lowering brows and raised 
tones already showed to be impending, by sweet 
words ; at another, by smoothing an invalid's pillow ; 
at another, by soothing a sobbing child ; at another, 
by humoring and softening a father who had returned 
weary and ill-tempered from the irritating cares of 
business. None but she saw those things. None but 
a loving heart could see them. That was the secret 
of her heavenly power. The one who will be found 
in trial capable of great acts of love is ever the one 
who is always doing considerate small ones, 

F. W. Robertson. 



*34 



May 9. 



And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee ; 
He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither 
forsake thee : fear not, neither be dismayed. — Deut. 
xxxi, 8. 

Wherever He may guide me, 

No want shall turn me back ; 
My Shepherd is beside me, 

And nothing can I lack. 
His wisdom ever waketh, 

His sight is never dim, 
He knows the way He taketh, 

And I will walk with Him. 

Anna L. Waring. 

If you go to Him to be guided, He will guide you ; 
but He will not comfort your distrust or half-trust of 
Him by showing you the chart of all His purposes 
concerning you. He will only show you into a way 
where, if you go cheerfully and trustfully forward, He 
will show you on still farther. No contract will be 
made with you save that He engages, if you trust 
Him, to lead you into the best things all the way 
through. 

Horace Bushnell. 



May io. 



In your patience possess ye your souls. — Luke xxi, 
19. 

What though thy way be dark, and earth 
With ceaseless care do cark, till mirth 

To thee no sweet strain singeth ; 
Still hide thy life above, and still 
Believe that God is love ; fulfill 

Whatever lot He bringeth. 

Albert E. Evans. 

How can you live sweetly amid the vexatious 
things, the irritating things, the multitude of little 
worries and frets, which lie all along your way, and 
which you cannot evade ? You cannot at present 
change your surroundings. Whatever kind of life 
you are to live, must be lived amid precisely the ex- 
periences in which you are now moving. Here you 
must win your victories or suffer your defeats. No 
restlessness or discontent can change your lot. 
Others may have other circumstances surrounding 
them, but here are yours. You had better make up 
your mind to accept what you cannot alter. You can 
live a beautiful life in the midst of your present cir- 
cumstances. 

J. R. Miller. 

Perhaps it is a greater energy of Divine Provi- 
dence which keeps the Christian from day to day, 
from year to year — praying, hoping, running, believ- 
ing — against all hindrances, which maintains him as 
a living martyr, than that which bears him up for an 
hour in sacrificing himself at the stake. 

R. Cecil. 



136 



May 11. 



Flee from idolatry. — I Cor. x, 14. 
Set your affection on things above, not on things 
on the earth. — Col. iii, 2. 

The dearest idol I have known, 

Whate'er that idol be, 
Help me to tear it from Thy throne, 

And worship only Thee. 

So shall my walk be close with God, 

Calm and serene my frame ; 
So purer light shall mark the road 

That leads me to the Lamb. 

William Cowper. 

The too ardent love or self-willed desire of power, 
or wealth, or credit in the world is (an Apostle has 
assured us) idolatry. Now, among the words or 
synonyms for idols in the Hebrew language, there is 
one that in its primary sense signifies troubles (Tegi- 
rim), other two that signifies terrors (Miphletzeth and 
Emim). And so it is certainly. All our idols prove 
so to us. They fill us with nothing but anguish and 
troubles, with cares and fears, that are good for 
nothing but to be fit punishments of the folly out of 
which they arise. 

Robert Leighton. 

Idolatry is not only an accounting or worshiping 
that for God which is not God, but it is also a worship- 
ing the true God in a way unsuitable to His nature, 
and particularly by the mediation of images and cor- 
poreal resemblances. 

Dr. South. 



May 12. 



137 



If ye love me, keep my commandments. — John 
xiv, 15. 

Let Thy grace, my soul's chief treasure, 
Love's pure name within me raise ; 

And, since words can never measure, 
Let my life show forth Thy praise. 

Francis S. Key. 

Love is higher than duty, and the reason is that 
love in reality contains duty in itself. Love is duty 
and something more. " Love is a beautiful plant with 
a beautiful flower, of which duty is the stalk." All 
acceptable obedienee flows from love ; all true love 
produces cheerful service. We do not really love God 
if we do not seek to obey Him. 

Rose Porter. 

We are to love what He loves, and do what He 
commands, and suffer what pain or sorrow He sends, 
and carry what burdens He lays upon us, and in all 
and through all to rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 
And remember, every action and every passive grace 
will contribute something to the completeness that is 
set in obedience to the will of God and blessed by 
Him. 

Raleigh. 



May 13. 



Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiv- 
ing, and the voice of melody. — Isa. li, 3. 

What then remains, but well our power to use, 
And keep Good Humor still, whate'er we lose ? 
And trust me, dear, Good Humor can prevail, 
When airs, and nights, and screams, and scolding fail ; 
Beauties in vain their pretty eyes may roll , 
Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul. 

Pope. 

Cheerful looks make every dish a feast, 
And 'tis that crowns a welcome. 

Massinger. 

True joy is a serene and sober motion : and they 
are miserably out that take laughing for rejoicing : 
the seat of it is within, and there is no cheerfulness 
like the resolutions of a brave mind. 

Seneca. 

The mind that is cheerful in its present state will 
be averse to all solicitude as to the future, and will 
meet the bitter occurrences of life with a placid 
smile. 

Horace. 

Age without cheerfulness is a Lapland winter with- 
out a sun ; and this spirit of cheerfulness should be 
encouraged in our youth, if we would wish to have the 
benefit of it in our old age. 

Colton. 



May 14. 



139 



Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and 
that the Spirit of Goddwelleth in you ? — I Cor. iii, 16. 

Fling wide the portals of your heart, 
Make it a temple set apart 
From earthly use for Heaven's employ, 
Adorned with prayer, and love, and joy. 
So shall your Sovereign enter in, 
And new and nobler life begin. 

George Weiszel. 

This pearl of eternity is the church or temple of 
God within thee, the consecrated place of divine wor- 
ship, where alone thou canst worship God in spirit and 
in truth. When once thou art well grounded in this 
inward worship, thou wilt have learned to live unto 
God above time and place. For every day will be 
Sunday to thee, and, wherever thou goest, thou wilt 
have a priest, a church, and an altar along with thee. 
For when God has all that He should have of thy 
heart, when thou art wholly given up to the obedience 
of the light and Spirit of God within thee, to will only 
in His will, to love only in His love, to be wise only 
in His wisdom, then it is that everything thou dost 
is as a song of praise, and the common business of 
thy life is a conforming to God's will on earth as angels 
do in heaven. 

William Law. 



140 



May 15. 



And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, say- 
ing, This is the way, walk ye in it. — Isa. xxx, 21. 

And, as the path of duty is made plain, 

May grace be given that I may walk therein, 
Not like the hireling, for his selfish gain, 

With backward glances and reluctant tread, 

Making a merit of his coward dread — 
But, cheerful, in the light around me thrown, 

Walking as one to pleasant service led ; 
Doing God's will as if it were my own, 
Yet trusting not in mine, but in His strength alone ! 

J. G. Whittier. 

Ask God to show you your duty, and then do that 
duty well ; and from that point you mount to the very 
peak of vision. 

Edward Everett Hale. 

Be not diverted from your duty by any idle reflec- 
tions the silly world may make on you ; for their 
censures are not in your power, and consequently 
should be no part of your concern. 

Epictetus. 

The true hero is the great wise man of duty ; he 
whose soul is armed by truth, and supported by the 
smile of God; he who meets life's perils with a 
cautious but tranquil spirit, gathers strength by facing 
its storms, and dies, if he is called to die, as a Chris- 
tian victor at the post of duty. 

Horace Bushnell. 



May 16. 



141 



Be strong, and of a good courage ; be not afraid, 
neither be thou dismayed : for the Lord thy God is 
with thee whithersoever thou goest. — Josh, i, 9. 



I may not always know the way 
Wherein God leads my feet ; 

But this I know, that round my path 
His love and wisdom meet. 

And so I rest content to know 

He guides my feet where'er I go. 

Sometimes above the path I tread, 
The clouds hang dark and low ; 

But thro" the gloom, or thro' the night, 
My heart no fear can know, 

For close beside me walks a Friend 

Who whispers low, " Until the e?id.^ 



I may not always understand 

Just why He sends to me 
Some bitter grief, some heavy loss, 

But though I cannot see — 
I kneel and whisper thro' my tears 
A prayer for help, and know He hears. 

Anonymous. 

Have faith in God, think noble things of God ; be 
sure that trust in the righteous God means the ulti- 
mate triumph of good over evil. 

F. W. Farrar. 



142 



May 17. 



The merciful man doeth good to his own soul. — 
Prov. xi, 17. 

Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods ? 
Draw near them then in being merciful, 
Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge. 

Shakespeare. 

Though justice be thy plea, consider this — 
That in the course of justice, none of us 
Should see salvation : we do pray for mercy ; 
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render 
The deeds of mercy. 

Ibid. 

We are unmerciful when without necessity we are 
judges of evil thoughts, when we suspect meanness, 
littleness, untruthfulness — not to speak of worse sur- 
misings — in others. The merciful in thought give no 
room in their hearts for suspicions such as these. 
They do not secretly impute evil. 

Richard C. Trench. 



May 18. 



143 



But this one thing I do, forgetting those things 
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those 
things which are before, I press toward the mark for 
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. — 
Phil, iii, 1.3, 14. 

Fear to do base, unworthy things is valor ; 

If they be done to us, to suffer them is valor too. 

Ben Jonson. 

Perfect valor consists in doing without witnesses 
all we should be capable of doing before the whole 
world. 

Rochefoucauld. 

Valor consists in the power of self-recovery. 

R. W. Emerson. 

Life, like war, is a series of mistakes, and he is not 
the best Christian nor the best general who makes 
the fewest false steps. He is the best who wins the 
most splendid victories by the retrieval of mistakes. 
Forget mistakes ; organize victory out of mistakes. 

F. W. Robertson. 



144 



May 19. 



But godliness with contentment is great gain. — 
I Tim. vi, 6. 

But those that are contented, 

However things do fall, 
Much anguish is prevented, 

And they soon freed from all. 
They finish all their labors 

With much felicity ; 
Their joy in trouble savors 

Of perfect piety. 

Anne Collins. 

Oh ! look not after great things ; small breathings, 
small desires after the Lord, if true and pure, are 
sweet beginnings of life. Take heed of despising 
" the day of small things," by looking after some great 
visitation, proportionable to thy distress, according to 
thy eye. Nay, thou must become a child ; thou must 
lose thy own will quite by degrees. Thou must wait 
for life to be measured out by the Father and be con- 
tent with what proportion, and at what time, He shall 
please to measure. 

I. Penington. 

I am always contented with that which happens, for 
I think that what God chooses is better than what I 
choose. 

Epictetus. 



May 20. 



1 45 



As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. — Rev. iii, 
19. 

The path of sorrow, and that path alone, 
Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown ; 
No traveler ever reach 'd that blest abode, 
Who found not thorns and briers in his road. 

William Cowper. 

To the Christian the teaching of sorrow is teaching 
to know Christ. Others may learn what is called res- 
ignation ; may apply to the benumbed sensation ad- 
ages which amount to this when weighed, that they 
must bear what they cannot help. His is a very dif- 
ferent and far higher lesson. A dismal road, indeed, 
is the path of worldly resignation under bereavement 
or anxiety, a path full of sad remembrances, ghastly 
with the decayed forms of vain philosophies, and 
sounding drearily with the confessions of past disap- 
pointment ; whereas the Christian's path in sorrow is 
cheered by his Saviour's voice and presence, and an- 
imated by the glorious cloud of witnesses who have 
followed him through suffering unto triumph. 

Dean Alford. 

The best cure for sorrow is to sympathize with an- 
other in his sorrow. The cure for despondency is to 

lift the burden from some other heart. 

The Household. 

10 



146 



May 21. 



They sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far 
as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the 
grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that 
with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the 
Lord. — Acts xi, 22, 23. 

Thy purpose firm is equal to the deed ; 
Who does the best his circumstance allows, 
Does well, acts nobly ; angels could do no more. 

Young. 

Your true man, your true woman, is the man or the 
woman with a purpose, who bends* all circumstances 
and privileges to the accomplishment of that purpose ; 
and there are no circumstances so adverse, no spheres 
of service so small that cannot be made glorious by 
high purpose. The most limited talents, the smallest 
opportunities are, by the magic of an earnest purpose, 
transformed into rich channels of blessing to the 
world. 

G. H. Hubbard. 

A purpose is always a companion, and an earnest 
purpose is the closest of companions. To fulfill duties 
is more than to enjoy pleasures. Keeping the mind 
constantly employed leaves no time for useless for- 
bodings or vain regrets. Much of the bitterest lone- 
liness in the world arises from an exorbitant and 
morbid self-regard, the important presence of self in 
attention. 

Anonymous. 



May 22. 



147 



But it is good to be zealously affected always in a 
good thing. — Gal. iv, 18. 

Be firm ! whatever tempts thy soul 
To loiter ere it reach its goal ; 
Whatever syren voice would draw 
Thy heart from duty and its law, 
Oh, that distrust ! Go bravely on, 
And, till the victor-crown be won, 
Be firm ! 

Anonymous. 

There is no substitute for thorough-going, ardent, 
and sincere earnestness. 

Charles Dickens. 

I believe in heart-earnestness. Deep feeling is 
contagious. Words poured forth from burning hearts 
are sure to kindle the hearts of others. A tear-drop 
is a very little thing, and yet it is a thing of power. 
Hearts that can stand every thing else are often 
melted by a tear. Let the heart palpitate in every 
line and burn in every word. 

Enoch Pond. 

The earnest men are so few in the world that their 
very earnestness becomes at once the badge of their 
nobility ; and as men in a crowd instinctively make 
room for one who seems eager to force his way 
through it, so mankind everywhere open their ranks 
to one who rushes zealously toward some object lying 
beyond them, 

Dwight. 



May 23. 



For none of us liveth to himself. — Rom. xiv, 7. 

We know not half the power for good or ill 

Our daily lives possess o'er one another : 
A careless word may help a soul to kill, 

Or by one look we may redeem our brother. 

'Tis not the great things that we do or say, 

But idle words forgot as soon as spoken ; 
And little thoughtless deeds of every day 

Are stumbling-blocks on which the weak are broken. 

We are not alone in anything we do. We are con- 
nected from the cradle to the grave with many others. 
W T e have our family and our kindred, our social 
friends, our business connections, our neighbors and 
fellow-citizens. Upon all these we exercise influence, 
both consciously and unconsciously. By our upright- 
ness they are strengthened, by our courage they are 
cheered, by our perseverance they are confirmed in 
our love of right. Every person is thus a preacher to 
his neighbor ; and the most powerful of all eloquence 
is that of a virtuous life. When a parent adds to the 
gentle precepts of true religion, delivered to his chil- 
dren, the practice of a just, a patient, and loving life, 
he preaches to his household in golden words. When 
a Christian tradesman shows a spirit of honor and 
rectitude in his dealings, a desire to afford full justice 
to his customers, as well as to himself, he preaches 
with the utmost force the sermon, " Go thou and do 
likewise." The best sermon any one can preach on 
patience, is actual calmness under provocation. The 
preaching of truly good lives is what the world now 
most needs. 



May 24. 



149 



A friend loveth at all times— Prov. xvii, 17. 

Make new friends, but keep the old : 
Those are silver, these are gold. 
New-made friendships, like new wine, 
Age will mellow and refine. 
Friendships that have stood the test — 
Time and change — are surely best ; 
Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray, 
Friendship never knows decay. 

The pleasure of having a friend may be taken from 
me, but not that of having had one. 

Seneca. 

Never forsake a friend. When enemies gather 
around, when sickness falls upon the heart, when all 
the world is dark and cheerless, is the time to try 
true friendship. The heart that has been touched 
with true gold will redouble its efforts when the friend 
is sad and in trouble. Adversity tries true friendship. 
They who run from the scenes of distress betray their 
hypocrisy and prove that interest only moves them. 
If you have a friend that loves, who has studied your 
interest and happiness, be sure to sustain him in 
adversity. Let him feel that his former kindness is 
appreciated and that his love was not thrown away. 



May 25. 



Be ye angry, and sin not : let not the sun go down 
upon your wrath. — Eph. iv, 26. 

No sinful word, nor deed of wrong, 

Nor thoughts that idly rove, 
But simple truth be on our tongue 

And in our hearts be love. 

St. Ambrose. 

" If possible, seal your lips in silence when the 
storm is rising ; shut up your anger in your own 
bosom, and, like fire that wants air and vent, it will 
soon expire. Angry words often prove a fan to the 
spark. The subjection of your temper to the control 
of religion is a thing that must be done." 

No form of vice, not worldliness, not greed of gold, 
not drunkenness itself, does more to un-Christianize 
society than evil temper. . . . 

A w r ant of patience, a w T ant of kindness, a want of 
generosity, a want of courtesy, a want of unselfish- 
ness, are all instantaneously symbolized in one flash 
of temper. 

Henry Drummond. 

Remember that every word you utter wings its way 
to the throne of God, and is to affect the condition of 
your soul forever. 

Todd. 



May 26. 



Blessed is the man that endureth temptation : for 
when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, 
which the Lord hath promised to them that love 
Him. — James i, 12. 

It is easy enough to be prudent 

When nothing tempts you to stray ; 
When without or within no voice of sin 

Is luring your soul away : 
But it's only a negative virtue 

Until it is tried by fire, 
And the life that is worth the honor of earth 

Is the one that resists desire. 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

Do not resent temptation ; do not be perplexed be- 
cause it seems to thicken round you more and more, 
and ceases neither for effort nor for agony nor prayer. 
That is your practice. That is the practice which 
God appoints you : and it is having its work in mak- 
ing you patient, and humble, and generous, and un- 
selfish, and kind, and courteous. 

Henry Drummond. 

Call to thyself the text, " Thou God seest me," or 
" God shall bring every secret thing into judgment." 
Think whether you would do this or that, if Jesus 
were by. 

E. B. Pusey. 



May 27. 



Not as I will, but as Thou wilt. — Matt, xxvi, 39. 

O Lord ! my best desires fulfill, 

And help me to resign 
Life, health, and comfort, to Thy will, 

And make Thy pleasure mine. 

William Cowper. 

The sweet peace of God bears the outward token 
of resignation. . . . Everything may not be exactly 
as we would wish it, but accept all, with a good grace. 
, , , God will tell us to continue gracious and smil- 
ing, for He will recompense the little annoyances we 
may experience. If you would discern in whom 
God's Spirit dwells, watch that person and notice 
whether you ever hear him murmur. 

Gold Dust. 

True peace is found only in the possession of God ; 
and the possession of God here on earth consists 
only in submission to faith and obedience to law. 
Resign every forbidden joy ; restrain every wish that 
is not referred to this will ; banish all eager desires, 
all anxiety; desire only the will of God; seek Him 
alone — and you will find peace ; you shall enjoy it in 
spite of the world. 

Fen£lon. 



May 28. 



153 



Charity suffereth long, and is kind. — I Cor. xiii, 4. 

Too often the faults we clearly see 

In others are faults of our own — 
And those who dwell in houses of glass 

Should be wary in casting a stone. 
So, have charity, much charity, 

The loveliest virtue of all, 
And look well to the member unruly, 

For it's prone to slip and fall. 

Good Housekeeping. 

Remember that charity thinketh no evil, much less 
repeats it. There are two good rules which ought to 
be written on every heart — never believe anything 
bad about anybody unless you positively know it is 
true ; never tell even that unless you feel that it is 
absolutely necessary, and that God is listening while 
you tell it. 

Henry Van Dyke. 

Every good act is charity. Putting a wanderer in 
the right way is charity. Removing stones and 
thorns from the road is charity. Smiling in your 
brother's face is charity. 

Mahomet. 



*54 



May 29. 



She openeth her mouth with wisdom ; and in her 
tongue is the law of kindness. — Prov. xxxi, 26. 

Good temper, 'tis the choicest gift 

That woman homeward brings, 
And can the poorest peasant lift 

To bliss unknown to kings. 

The Household. 

It is a medicine which brings relief, 
And moderates the malady of grief ; 
It is a ceaseless spring, from which doth flow 
Contentment, peace, and happiness below ; 
It is the pilot which our bark will guide 
Safe past the rocks of envy, hate, or pride ; 
It is the soft south wind that mildly blows, 
Carrying sweet fragrance wheresoe'r it goes ; 
It is the shield that will protect our hearts 
From malice and from envy's poisoned darts ; 
Like water doth it fall on hatred's flame, 
And either quenches or abates the same ; 
But on affection's pure and hallowed fire 
It falls like oil, and makes it mount the higher. 

R. W. Jackson. 

It is not within the domestic circle only that good 
temper should be exercised; it is an invaluable pos- 
session even amongst the more distant connections 
of social life. It is a passport with all into their es- 
teem and affection. It gives a grace to the plainest 
countenance, and to the fairest is an ornament which 
neither time nor disease will destroy. Every day of 
life teems with circumstances by which it may be ex- 
ercised and improved. It is shown toward children 
and servants by willingness to promote their enjoy- 
ments, while superiority is mildly but steadily exerted 
to keep them in proper subjection. It is exhibited in 
every direction by unwillingness to offend, by not op- 
posing our own opinions and pleasures to the preju- 
dices of others ; and it is above all demonstrated by 
the cheerful, even tenor of spirit that dwells within 
the well-governed mind, and which renders it happy 
almost in spite of vexations and sorrows. 

Mrs. Parkes. 



May 30. 



r 55 



Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, 
than to divide the spoil with the proud. — Prov. xvi, 
19. 

God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the 
humble. — James iv, 6. 

Be humble ; learn thyself to scan : 
Know pride was never made for man. 

Search others for their Virtues, and thyself for thy 
Vices. 

Fuller. 

Well-nigh the whole substance of the Christian 
discipline is humility. 

St. Augustine. 

Regard not much who is for thee or against thee ; 
but mind what thou art about, and take care that God 
may be with thee in everything thou doest. Have a 
good conscience, and God will well defend thee. For 
whom God will help, no man's perverseness shall be 
able to hurt. If thou canst be silent and suffer, with- 
out doubt thou shalt see that the Lord will help thee. 
He knoweth the time and manner how to deliver 
thee, and therefore thou oughtest to resign thyself 
unto Him. It belongs to God to help and to deliver 
from all confusion. It is often very profitable, to keep 
us more humble, that others know and rebuke our 
faults. . . . Do not think that thou hast made any 
progress unless thou esteem thyself inferior to all. 

Thomas a Kempis. 



May 31. 



And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in 
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and 
the Father by Him. — Col. iii, 17. 

It is not the deed we do, 

Though the deed be never so fair, 
But the love that the dear Lord looketh for, 

Hidden with holy care 

In the heart of the deed so fair. 

H. M. Kimball. 

Good deeds are very fruitful ; out of one good ac- 
tion of ours the Lord produces a thousand, the har- 
vest whereof is perpetual. 

Bishop Hall. 

No good that has been truly meant, though in the 
midst of mistakes, shall, in any upshot of life, be ut- 
terly lost. In the end of things the angels shall 
always come and gather the wheat from among the 
tares. 

Adeline D. T. Whitney. 

I shall pass through this world but once. Any good 
thing, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I 
can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let 
me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this 
way again. 

Henry Drummond. 



June i. 



157 



Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God. — 
Ps. cxliii, 10. 

The task Thy wisdom hath assigned, 

O let me cheerfully fulfill ; 
In all my works Thy presence find, 

And prove Thy good and perfect will. 

Anonymous. 

Cheered by the presence of God, I will do at each 
moment, without anxiety, according to the strength 
which He shall give, the work that His Providence 
assigns me. I will leave the rest without concern ; it 
is not my affair. I ought to consider the duty to which 
I am called each day, as the work that God has given 
me to do, and to apply myself to it in a manner worthy 
of His glory, that is to say, with exactness and in 
peace. I must neglect nothing ; I must be violent 
about nothing. 

F&NELON. 



158 June 2. 

The lot is cast into the lap ; but the whole dispos- 
ing thereof is of the Lord. — Prov. xvi, 33. 

Leave God to order all thy ways, 
And hope in Him, whate'er betide. 

Thou' It find Him in the evil days 
Thy all-sufficient strength and guide : 

Who trusts in God's unchanging love, 

Builds on the rock that naught can move. 

G. Neumarck. 

Give up yourself to God without reserve ; in single- 
ness of heart, meeting everything that every day 
brings forth, as something that comes from God, and 
is to be received and gone through by you, in such 
an heavenly use of it, as you would suppose the holy 
Jesus would have done in such occurrences. This 
is an attainable degree of perfection. 

William Law. 

Do not despise your situation ; in it you must act, 
suffer, and conquer. From every point on earth we 
are equally near to heaven and to the infinite. 

Henri Frederic Amiel. 



Every lot is happy to a person who bears it with 
tranquillity. 

Boethius, 



June 3. 



159 



Giving thanks always for all things unto God. — 
Eph. v, 20. 

Thro' all the changing scenes of life, 

In trouble and in joy, 
The praises of my God shall still 

My heart and tongue employ. 

Gratitude consists in a watchful, minute attention to 
the particulars of our state, and to the multitude of 
God's gifts, taken one by one. It fills us with a con- 
sciousness that God loves and cares for us, even to 
the least event and smallest need of life. It is a 
blessed thought, that from our childhood God has 
been laying His fatherly hands upon us, and always 
in benediction ; that even the strokes of His hands 
are blessings, and among the chiefest we have ever 
received. When this feeling is awakened, the heart 
beats with a pulse of thankfulness. Every gift has its 
return of praise. It awakens an unceasing daily con- 
verse with our Father — He speaking to us by the de- 
scent of blessings, we to Him by the ascent of thanks- 
giving. And all our whole life is thereby draw T n 
under the light of His countenance, and is filled with 
a gladness, serenity, and peace which only thankful 
hearts can know. 

H. E. Manning. 



i6o 



June 4. 



There hath no temptation taken you but such as is 
common to man : but God is faithful, who will not 
suffer you to be tempted above that ye be able ; but 
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, 
that ye may be able to bear it. — I Cor. x, 13. 

Yield not to temptation, 

For yielding is sin, 
Each victory will help you 

Some other to win ; 
Fight manfully onward, 

Dark passion subdue, 
Look ever to Jesus, 

He will carry you through. 

H. R. Palmer. 

Every temptation in which we have been victorious 
makes us stronger. The virtue we have struggled 
for becomes more completely ours. Principles which 
have stood the test of seducing influences and urgent 
assaults, become established as settled habits. Our 
steps are made firm. The effect of temptation, prop- 
erly met and resisted, is most salutary, not only lead- 
ing to a steadier grasp of the virtues which have been 
endangered, but to a firmer trust in the Divine Provi- 
dence. An army that has not met its foes is diffident 
and without the steady confidence of veteran troops. 
So it is with the soul in its spiritual conflicts. When 
we have endured temptation we know what we can 
bear, and what we can resist. We have acquired new 
abhorrence of evil from the very odiousness with which 
it has pressed itself upon us. But we have also ac- 
quired fresh faith in the Lord. We know that though 
He seemed long in manifesting His power, it came at 
last, and we have seen that His was the right time. 

Arthur's Home Magazine. 



June 5. 



161 



Be strong, and quit yourselves like men. — I Sam. 
iv, 9. 

Where our Captain bids us go, 
'Tis not ours to murmur " No." 

He that gives the sword and shield, 

Chooses too the battle-field 
On which we are to fight the foe. 

Anon. 

Of nothing may we be more sure than this : that if 
we cannot sanctify our present lot, we could sanctify 
no other. Our heaven and our Almighty Father are 
there or nowhere. The obstructions of that lot are 
given for us to heave away by the concurrent touch 
of a holy Spirit, and labor of strenuous will ; its 
gloom, for us to tint with some celestial light ; its 
mysteries are for our worship ; its sorrows for our 
trust ; its perils for our courage ; its temptations for 
our faith. Soldiers of the cross, it is not for us. but 
for our Leader and our Lord, to choose the field ; it 
is ours, taking the station which He assigns, to make 
it the field of truth and honor, though it be the field 
of death. 

J. Martineau. 

1 1 



162 



June 6. 



Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts 
shall be established. — Prov. xvi, 3. 



No earnest work 
Of an}* honest creature, howbeit weak, 
Imperfect, ill-adapted, fails so much 
It is not gathered, as a grain of sand, 
To enlarge the sum of human action used 
For carrying out God's plan. 

Elizabeth Barrett Browning. 

Let every man lovingly cast all his thoughts and 
cares, and his sins, too, as it were, on the Will of God. 
Moreover, if a man, while busy in this lofty inward 
work, were called by some duty in the Providence of 
God to cease therefrom, and cook a broth for some 
sick person, or any other such service, he should do 
so willingly and with great joy. If I had to forsake 
such work, and go out to preach or aught else, I 
should go cheerfully, believing not only that God 
would be with me, but that He would vouchsafe me it 
may be even greater grace and blessing in that ex- 
ternal work undertaken out of true love in the service 
of my neighbor, than I should perhaps receive in my 
season of loftiest contemplation. 

John Tauler. 



June 7. 



163 



Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. — Job 
xiii, 15. 

Thou knowest what is best ; 

And who but Thee, O God, hath power to know? 
In Thy great will my trusting heart shall rest ; 

Beneath that will my humble head shall bow. 

T. C. Upham. 

We should see not only the hand of God, but the 
hand of our Heavenly Father, full of mercy and lov- 
ing-kindness in all that befalls us. We should believe 
it to be best for us, because it is His will. 

George W. Bethune. 

There is no room for chance. Strange may be the 
way in which the lot is cast into our lap, but whether 
it be cast by visible or invisible hands, whether sud- 
denly, or so slowly that we can see it come, whether 
plentifully or sparingly, it is always cast exactly as the 
Lord wills, 

Tholuck. 



164 



June 8. 



Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation : 
the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. — 
Matt, xxvi, 41. 

Watch ! it is the Master calls thee ; 

Pray ! it is His ear that hears ; 

Up ! shake off thy chilly fears ! 
Mindful thou whatever befalls thee 

Leaves thee further on thy way. 
Watch and pray ! 

When you say, " Lead us not into temptation," you 
must in good earnest mean to avoid in your daily con- 
duct those temptations which you have already suf- 
fered from. When you say, " Deliver us from evil," 
you must mean to struggle against that evil in your 
hearts which you are conscious of, and which you 
pray to be forgiven. . . . To watch and pray are 
surely in our power, and by these means we are cer- 
tain of getting strength. You feel your weakness ; 
you fear to be overcome by temptation ; then keep 
out of the way of it. This is watching. Avoid so- 
ciety which is likely to mislead you ; flee from the 
very shadow of evil ; you cannot be too careful ; 
better be a little too strict than a little too easy — it is 
the safer side. Abstain from reading books which are 
dangerous to you. Turn from bad thoughts when they 
arise. 

J, H. Newman. 



June 9. 



But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass 
the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same im- 
age from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the 
Lord, — II Cor. iii, 18. 

I do not ask that Thou wilt bless 
With gifts of heavenly sort ray day, 

So much as that my hands may dress 
The borders of my lowly way 

With constant deeds of good and right, 

Thereby reflecting heavenly light. 

Alice Cary. 

Stand in Christ's presence and mirror His charac- 
ter, and you will be changed in spite of yourself, and 
unknown to yourself, into the same image, from char- 
acter to character. Every man is a reflector ; that is 
the principle upon which this is based. He cannot 
help reflecting ; he cannot help showing the environ- 
ment in which he has lived, the influences that have 
played round him. . . . All friendship, all love — 
human and Divine — is spiritual, so that it is no diffi- 
culty in reflecting the character of Christ that we have 
never been in visible contact with Him. He does not 
appeal to the eye ; He appeals to the soul, and is re- 
flected, not from the body, but the soul. 

Henry Drummond. 



i66 



June io. 



By this we know that we love the children of God, 
when we love God and keep His commandments. — I 
John v. 2. 

Learn that to love is the one way to know 
Or God or man ; it is not love received 
That maketh man to know the inner life 
Of them that love him : his own love bestowed 
Shall do it. 

Jean Ixgelow. 

Contemplate the love of Christ, and you will love. 
Stand before that mirror, reflect Christ's character, and 
you will be changed into the same image from tender- 
ness to tenderness. There is no other way. You 
cannot love to order. You can only look at the lovely 
object, and fall in love with it, and grow into likeness 
to it. 

Henry Drummond. 

Love is Patience. This is the normal attitude of 
Love ; Love passive, Love waiting to begin ; not in a 
harry ; calm ; ready to do its work when the sum- 
mons comes, but meantime wearing the ornament of a 
meek and quiet spirit. 

Henry Drummond. 



June ii. 



167 



Judge me, O Lord ; for I have walked in mine in- 
tegrity ; I have trusted also in the Lord ; therefore I 
shall not slide. — Ps. xxvi, 1. 

Oh ! never from thy tempted heart 
Let thine integrity depart ! 
When disappointment fills thy cup, 
Undaunted, nobly drink it up ! 
Truth will prevail, and justice show 
Her tardy honors — sure though slow 
Bear on — bear bravely on. 

Thomas Buchanan Read. 

The man who is so conscious of the rectitude of his 
intentions as to be willing to open his bosom to the 
inspection of the world, is in possession of one of the 
strongest pillars of a decided character. The course 
of such a man will be firm and steady, because he has 
nothing to fear from the world, and is sure of the ap- 
probation and support of Heaven. While he, who is 
conscious of secret and dark designs, which, if known, 
would blast him, is perpetually shrinking and dodging 
from public observation, and is afraid of all around, 
and much more of all above him. The clear, un- 
clouded brow, the open countenance, the brilliant eye 
which can look an honest man steadfastly, yet courte- 
ously in the face, the healthfully beating heart, and the 
firm, elastic step, belong to him whose bosom is free 
from guile, and who knows that all his motives and 
purposes are pure and right. Why should such a man 
falter in his course ? He may be slandered ; he may 
be deserted by the world: but he has that within 
which will keep him upright, and enable him to move 
onward in his course with his eyes fixed on Heaven, 
which he knows will not desert him. Wirt. 



i68 



June 12. 



But of that day and that hour knoweth no man. — 
Mark xiii, 32. 



Rise, soul, and set thy house in order, lest 
At any moment Death should be thy guest. 
Be ready for the journey thou must go 
At morn or midnight. If he finds thee so, 
Brave with a faith in things thou canst not see, 
What does it matter when it comes to thee ? 

Axox. 

If you are living in the neglect of prayer, in the 
neglect of your Bible, in the neglect of any known 
duty, oh ! I beseech you, to attend to these things 
now. A languid state of body, or a bewildered mind, 
may take our last hours entirely out of our control, 
even if death does not come upon us in the form of 
sudden accident. I would impress upon you this im- 
portant truth, that our hold on life is extremely uncer- 
tain, and that if we have any preparation to make, we 
had better set about it without delay. 

John X. Norton. 



June 13. 



169 



Be ready to every good work. — Titus iii, i. 

It will not do. 

An idle life to lead, 
Because I'm small and talents few; 

Of me the Lord hath need, 
Some work or calling to pursue., 

Or do some humble deed. 

I must be active every hour, 

And do my Maker's will : 
If but a ray can paint the flower, 

A rain-drop swell the rill, 
I know in me there is a power 

Some humble place to fill. 

There is nobody that cannot do some good : and 
everybody is bound to do diligently all the good he 
can. It is by no means enough to be rightly disposed 
to be serious, and religious in our closets : we must be 
useful, too, and take care that, as we all reap number- 
less benefits from society, society may be better for 
every one of us. It is a false, a faulty, and an indo- 
lent humility that makes people sit still and do noth- 
ing, because they will not believe that they are capable 
of doing much : for everybody can do something. 
Everybody can set a good example, be it to many or 
to few. Everybody can in some degree encourage 
virtue and religion, and discountenance vice and folly. 
Everybody has some one or other whom they can ad- 
vise, or instruct, or in some way help to guide through 
life. Those who are too poor to give alms can yet 
give their time, their trouble, their assistance in pre- 
paring or forwarding the gifts of others ; in consider- 
ing and representing distressed cases to those who 
can relieve them ; in visiting and comforting the sick 
and afflicted. Everybody can offer up their prayers 
for those who need them : which, if they do reverently 
and sincerely, they will never be wanting in giving 
them every other assistance that it should please God 
to put in their power. 

Catherine Talbot. 



June 14. 



See that none render evil for evil unto any man ; 
but ever follow that which is good, both among your- 
selves, and to all men. — I Thess. v, 15. 

To conquer hate, 
And in its place to cherish love unfeigned, 
Forgiveness and forgetfulness of wrongs, 
No precepts but the perfect law of Christ, 
No teacher but the blessed Son of God, 
Could e'er instruct mankind. 

C. P. Layard. 

It is easy enough for us to forgive, in words at least, 
a man who has injured us. Easy enough to make up 
our minds that we will not revenge ourselves. Easy 
enough to determine, even, that we will return good 
for evil to him, and do him a kindness when we have 
a chance. Yes, we would not hurt him for the world ; 
but what if God hurt him ? What if he hurt himself? 
What if he lost his money ? What if his children 
turned out ill? What if he made a fool of himself 
and came to shame ? What if he were found out and 
exposed, as we fancy that he deserves ? Should we be 
so very sorry ? We should not punish him ourselves. 
No. But do we never catch ourselves thinking 
whether God may not punish him ; thinking of that 
with a bare secret satisfaction ; almost hoping for it 
at last ? Oh ! if we ever do, God forgive us ! If we 
ever find those devils' thoughts rising in us, let 
us flee from them as from an adder; flee to the 
foot of Christ's cross, to the cross of Him who prayed 
for His murderers : " Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do ;" and there cry aloud for the 
blood of life, which shall cleanse us from the guilt of 
those wicked thoughts, and for the water of life, 
which shall cleanse us from the power of them, lest 
they get the dominion over us, and spring up in us, 
and spread over our whole hearts ; not a well of life, 
but a well of poison, springing up in us to everlasting 
damnation. 

Charles Kingsley. 



June 15. 



Many are the afflictions of the righteous : but the 
Lord delivereth him out of them all. — Ps. xxxiv, 19. 

He who hath never warred with misery, 
Xor ever tugged with fortune and distress, 

Hath had n'occasion, nor no field to try 
The strength and forces of his worthiness ; 

Those parts of judgment which felicity 
Keeps as concealed, affliction must express. 

And men show only their abilities, 

And what they are in their extremities. 

Samuel Daniel. 

Consider that afflictions are oftentimes the occa- 
sions of temporal advantages ; and we must not look 
upon them as they sit down heavily upon us, but as 
they serve some of God's ends and the purposes of 
universal providence. And when a prince fights 
justly, and yet unprosperously, if he could see all 
those reasons for which God hath so ordered it, he 
would think it the most reasonable thing in the world, 
and that it would be very ill to have it otherwise. 
If a man could have opened one of the pages of the 
Divine counsel, and could have seen the event of 
Joseph's being sold to the merchants of Midian, he 
might, with much reason, have dried up the young 
man's tears : and when God's purposes are opened in 
the event of things, as it was in the case of Joseph 
when he sustained his father's family and became 
lord of Egypt, then we see what ill judgment we 
made of things, and that we were passionate as chil- 
dren and transported with sense and mistaken in- 
terest. 

Bishop Jeremy Taylor. 



172 



June 16. 



The will of the Lord be done. — Acts xxi, 14. 
Let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him. — II 
Sam. xv, 26. 

When thy burden weighs thee down, 
And the skies above thee frown, 
Telling of the coming night, 
Love will make thy burden light. 

Love will help thee to resign 
Everything to Hands Divine ; 
Help thee say from sun to sun, 
" Father, let Thy will be done." 

G. W. Crofts. 

Let him with a cheerful and thankful spirit yield 
himself up to suffer whatever God shall appoint unto 
him, and to fulfill, according to his power, by the grace 
of God, all His holy will to the utmost that he can 
discern it, and never complain of his distresses but 
to God alone with entire and humble resignation, 
praying that he may be strong to endure all his suf- 
ferings according to the will of God. 

John Tauler. 

Dare to look up to God and say : " Make use of 
me for the future as Thou wilt. I am of the same 
mind ; I am one with Thee. I refuse nothing which 
seems good to Thee. Lead me whither Thou wilt, 
clothe me in whatever dress Thou wilt. Is it Thy 
will that I should be in a public or a private condi- 
tion, dwell here or be banished, be poor or rich ? 
Under all these circumstances I will testify unto Thee 
before men." 

Epictetus. 



June 17. 



173 



Be courteous. — I Peter iii, 8. 

Politeness is to do and say 

The kindest things in the kindest way. 

True civility is the outgrowth of humility and love. 
Sow these two seeds. Nourish in your soul's richest 
and deepest soil these two plants. They both are 
near to God, for we are lowlier and we love more as 
we feel ourselves nearer to Him. And out of them 
will grow, among the fairest flowers, courtesy. It 
will make you gracious. It will make you expressive. 
It will make you careful of others' feelings. It will 
make you respectful. It will make you reverent. It 
will make you dutiful. It will make you unselfish. It 
will make you thoughtful. ... I know nothing that 
so becomes a woman as courtesy. 

Bishop Doaxe. 

Men are judged, not by their intentions, but by the 
result of their actions. 

Lord Chesterfield. 

Behavior is a mirror, in which every one shows his 
image. 

J. W. von Goethe. 

Small kindnesses, small courtesies, small consider- 
ations, habitually practiced in our social intercourse, 
give a greater charm to the character than the display 
of great talents and accomplishments. 

M. A. Kelty. 



174 



JUNE 18. 



I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence 
cometh my help. 

My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven 
and earth. — Ps. cxxi, i, 2. 

" Should Thy mercy send me 

Sorrow, toil, and woe : 
Or should pain attend me 

On my path below : 
Grant that I may never 

Fail Thy hand to see ; 
Grant that I may ever 

Cast my care on Thee." 

You are never to complain of your birth, your 
training, your employments, your hardships ; never 
to fancy that you could be something if you only had a 
different lot and sphere assigned you. God under- 
stands His own plan, and He knows what you want 
a great deal better than you do. The very things that 
you most deprecate as fatal limitations and obstruc- 
tions, are probably what you most want. What you 
call hindrances, obstacles, discouragements, are prob- 
ably God's opportunities. Bring down your soul, or, 
rather, bring it up to receive God's will and do His 
work, in your lot, in your sphere, under your cloud 
of obscurity, against your temptations, and then you 
shall find that your condition is never opposed to 
your good, but really consistent with it. 

- H. Bushnell. 



June 19. 



175 



Fret not thyself, else shalt thou be moved to do 
evil. — Ps. xxxvii, 8. 

You may say what you please, 
You may fret, you may tease, 
After all, it won't help you, my friend. 
Let your mind be at rest ; 
If you'll do but your best, 
" It will all come out right in the end." 

Though you oft look ahead 

To the future with dread, 
And obstacles grave apprehend, 

Brave them all like a man, 

Work as hard as you can 
For " 'twill all come out right in the end." 

There's a good God above, 

In whose mercy and love 
The upright may e'er find a friend. 

He has promised, if you 

Are but faithful and true, 
That " 'twill all come out right in the end." 

G. L. Catlin. 

Nothing is intolerable that is necessary. Now God 
hath bound thy trouble upon thee, with a design to 
try thee, and with purposes to reward and crown thee. 
These cords thou canst not break ; and therefore lie 
thou down gently, and suffer the hand of God to do 
what He pleases. 

Jeremy Taylor. 



i 7 6 



JUNE 20. 



Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather 
give place unto wrath ; for it is written, Vengeance is 
mine ; I will repay, saith the Lord. — Rom. xii, 19, 

A noble heart doth teach a virtuous scorn, 

To scorn to owe a duty overlong ; 
To scorn to be for benefits foreborne, 

To scorn to lie, to scorn to do a wrong, 
To scorn to bear an injury in mind, 
To scorn a free-born heart slave-like to bind. 

But if for wrongs we needs revenge must have, 
Then be our vengeance of the noblest kind ; 

Do we his body from our fury save, 
And let our hate prevail against our mind. 

What can 'gainst him a greater vengeance be, 

Than make his foe more worthy far than he? 

Cady Elizabeth Carey. 

Hath any wronged thee ? Be bravely revenged ; 
slight it, and the work's begun ; forgive it, 'tis finished : 
he is below himself that is not above an injury. 

Francis Quarles. 

You cannot hurt a Christian. I wish to impress this 
fact upon your mind so that you will not forget it dur- 
ing all the days of your life. All the annoyance, vex- 
ations, and trials you may cause a Christian makes 
him cling the more tenaciously to that Saviour, who 
helps all those who love Him bear their burdens. 
Were you to deprive a Christian of life, you would 
only hasten the time when he would dwell with the 
blessed where sin and sorrow are no more. Each 
trial patiently endured by a Christian adds one more 
jewel to the crown he will receive in Heaven. 

James V. Ellis. 



June 21. 



177 



Pure religion and undented before God and the 
Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in 
their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the 
world. — James i, 27. 

Religion pure, 
Unchanged in spirit, though its forms and codes 

Wear myriad modes, 
Contains all creeds within its mighty span— 
The love of God, displayed in love of man. 

Horace Smith. 

Let meditation and prayer administer to our good 
actions, and, like oil to a lamp, give our charity fresh 
spirits and flame ; for as private religion is deficient 
without public charity, so charity, unless often re- 
freshed by retirement, devotion, and heavenly reflec- 
tions, will cool and languish. 

Richard Lucas, D. D, 

No sham work will suffice in religion. A man might 
as well attempt to cure a dreadful wound in his body 
by laying a plaster outside his clothes, as to hope to 
rid himself of inbred corruption by mere outward 
reformation. Heart-work must be Gods work. He 
who made the heart alone can change it from its natu- 
ral hardness and stubbornness into one that is broken 
and contrite. 

John N. Norton. 

Religion is not a continual moping over good 
books ; religion is not even prayer, praise, or holy 
ordinances. These are necessary, and no man can 
be religious without them. But religion is mainly and 
chiefly the glorifying God amid the duties and trials 
of the world; the guiding of our course amid the ad- 
verse winds and currents of temptation by the star- 
light of duty and the compass of Divine truth ; the 
bearing of us wisely, manfully, courageously, for the 
honor of Christ, our Great Leader in the conflict of 
life, and the Captain of our salvation. 

William Carey. 

12 



i7« 



June 22. 



And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your 
faith virtue ; and to virtue, knowledge ; and to knowl- 
edge, temperance ; . . . For if these things be in you, 
and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be 
barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. — II Peter i, 5, 6, 8. 

For fear the flesh should wrongly think 
To lord it o'er the deathless soul, 

Let abstinence in food and drink 
The guilty pride of flesh control. 

St. Ambrose. 

Refrain to-night, 
And that shall lend a hand of easiness 
To the next abstinence ; the next more easy ; 
For use almost can change the stamp of nature, 
And either curb the devil, or throw him out 
With wondrous potency. 

Shakespeare. 

Those men who destroy a healthful constitution of 
body by intemperance, as manifestly kill themselves 
as those who hang, or poison, or drown themselves. 

Thomas Sherlock. 

The dose of alcoholic stimulation which spurred 
the thought of to-day must be slightly increased to 
spur the thought of to-morrow. So on and on the 
evil goes, until at last the simple, and, as it was called, 
the harmless dose, rises to the poisonous dose ; until, 
with unnerved limbs, faltering memory, dulled im- 
agination, estranged feeling, enfeebled reason, the vic- 
tim falls. Of all men, brain-workers are the men least 
able to bear up against the ravages of alcohol. I hold 
that man as prematurely mad who defends the use of 
alcohol for himself on this ground of necessity. I hold 
that man as criminally mad who knowingly prescribes 
alcohol on this foundation. . . . From the beginning 
to the end of its influence, it subdues reason and sets 
passions free. 

B. W. Richardson. 



June 23. 



179 



Cause me to hear Thy loving-kindness in the morn- 
ing ; for in Thee do I trust : cause me to know the 
way wherein I should walk ; for I lift up my soul unto 
Thee. — Ps. cxliii, 8. 

Do some tender deed of mercy 

To a soul with sorrow racked, 
Give the balm of loving-kindness 

In some helpful little act. 

That one deed thy soul will lighten, 

And its heavy gloom will lift, 
As a ray of brilliant sunshine 

Though the blackest clouds may drift. 

MlNA F. SCHMITZ. 

God only is holy ; He alone knows how to lead His 
children in the paths of holiness. He knows every 
aspect of your soul, every thought of your heart, every 
secret of your character, its difficulties and hindrances ; 
He knows how to mold you to His will, and lead you 
onward to perfect sanctification ; He knows exactly 
how each event, each trial, each temptation will tell 
upon you, and He disposes all things accordingly. 
The consequences of this belief, if fully grasped, will 
influence your whole life. You will seek to give your- 
self up to God more and more unreservedly, asking 
nothing, refusing nothing, wishing nothing but what 
He wills ; not seeking to bring things about for your- 
self, taking all He sends joyfully, and believing the 
" one step " set before you to be enough for you. You 
will be satisfied that even though there are clouds 
around, and your way seems dark, He is directing all, 
and that what seems a hindrance will prove a bless- 
ing, since He wills it 

Jean Nicolas Grou. 



i8o 



June 24. 



Whose adorning ... let it be the hidden man of 
the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the 
ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the 
sight of God of great price. — I Peter iii, 4. 

O Lord, forgive my sin, 

And deign to put within 
A calm, obedient heart, a patient mind ; 

That I may murmur not, 

Though bitter seem my lot ; 
For hearts unthankful can no blessing find. 

Rutilius, 1604. 

Though this patient, meek resignation is to be ex- 
ercised with regard to all outward things and occur- 
rences of life, yet it chiefly respects our own inward 
state, the troubles, perplexities, weaknesses, and dis- 
orders of our own souls. And to stand turned to a 
patient, meek, humble resignation to God, when your 
own impatience, wrath, pride, and irresignation attack 
yourself, is a higher and more beneficial performance 
of this duty than when you stand turned to meekness 
and patience when attacked by the pride, or wrath, or 
disorderly passions of other people. 

William Law. 

We require a certain firmness in all circumstances 
of life, even the happiest, and perhaps contradictions 
come in order to prove and exercise this ; and if we 
can only determine so to use them, the very effort 
brings back tranquillity to the soul, which always 
enjoys having exercised its strength in conformity to 
duty. 

William von Humboldt. 



June 25. 181 



Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord ; 

for He is good : for His mercy endureth for ever. — 

Ps. cvi, 1. 

Thou who sendest sun and rain, 
Thou who spendest bliss and pain. 
Good with bounteous hand bestowing, 
Evil for Thy Will allowing, — 
Though Thy Ways we cannot see, 
All is just that comes from Thee. 

In the peace of hearts at rest, 
In the child at mother's breast, 
In the lives that now surround us, 
In the deaths that sorely wound us, — 
Though we may not understand, 
Father, we behold Thy hand ! 

Hear the happy hymn we raise, 
Take the love which is Thy praise, 
Give content in each condition ; 
Bend our hearts in sweet submission, 
And Thy trusting children prove 
Worthy of the Father's love. 

Bayard Taylor. 
The offerings of praise and the actings of gratitude 
to God are not only fruitful in every good work but 
productive of the greatest satisfaction, somewhat like 
the fragrant steams of consecrated incense which, 
while they were agreeable to the great Object of 
worship, at the same time regaled the pious wor- 
shiper. 

James Hervey. 
True praise requires our whole man — the judgment 
to esteem, the memory to treasure up, the will to 
resolve, the affections to delight, the tongue to speak 
of, and the life to express the rich favors of God. 

Richard Sibbes. 



182 



June 26. 



What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but 
to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and 
to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with ail 
thy heart and with all thy soul. — Deut. x, 12. 

What asks our Father of His children save 
Justice and mercy and humility, 
A reasonable service of good deeds, 
Pure living, tenderness to human needs, 

Reverence and trust and prayer for light to see 
The Master's footprints in our daily ways? 
No knotted scourge, nor sacrificial knife, 
But the calm beauty of an ordered life 

Whose every breathing is unworded praise. 

J. G. Whittier. 

To wish to serve Him in one place rather than in 
another, by such and such a way, and not by the op- 
posite one, is to wish to serve Him in our own way 
and not in His. But to be equally ready for all things, 
to accept everything and reject nothing, to leave one's 
self like a toy in the hands of Providence — this is 
serving Him by renouncing self, this is treating Him 
truly as God, and ourselves as creatures made only 
for Him. 

FgNELON. 

The will is the seat of responsibility. At the side 
of the will, which is free, God hath placed in the soul 
a law which is fixed. The morally good consists in 
the conformity of the free will to the fixed law. Sin, 
on the other hand, consists essentially in the will re- 
fusing to submit itself to the moral law of God. 

James McCosh. 



June 27. 



The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken 
heart ; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. — 
Ps. xxxiv, 18. 

Where sad contrition harbors, there the heart 

Is truly acquainted with the secret smart 

Of past offenses, hates the bosom sin 

The most, which most the soul took pleasure in ; 

No crime unsifted, no sin unpresented 

Can lurk unseen, and seen, none unlamented ! 

The troubled soul's amazed with dire aspects 

Of lesser sins committed, and detects 

The wounded conscience ; it cries amain 

For mercy — mercy ; cries, and cries again. 

It sadly grieves, and soberly laments, 

It yearns for grace, reforms, returns, repents. 

Aye, this is incense whose accepted savor 

Mounts up the heavenly throne, and findeth favor ; 

Aye, this it is whose valor never fails — 

With God it stoutly wrestles and prevails : 

Aye, this it is that pierces heaven above, 

Never returning home (like Noah's dove), 

But brings an olive leaf, or some increase, 

That works salvation and eternal peace. 

Francis Quarles. 

All powerful is the penitential sigh 
Of true contrition ; like the placid wreaths 
Of incense, wafted from the righteous shrine 
Where Abel ministered, to the blest seat 
Of Mercy, an accepted sacrifice, 
Humiliation's conscious plaint ascends. 

Samuel Hayes. 

How blessed it is to know the character of Him 
with whom we have to do ; pitiful, tender, full of com- 
passion, keeping- mercy, plenteous in redemption. 
We have no idea of His longing to bless , with Him 
all must be loving, because He is love. 

Lady Powerscourt. 



184 



June 28. 



And the Lord make you to increase and abound in 
love one toward another, and toward all men. — 
I Thess. iii, 12, 

If any little word of mine 

May make a life the brighter, 
If any little song of mine 

May make a heart the lighter, 
God help me speak the little word, 

And take my bit of singing, 
And drop it in some lonely vale 

To set the echoes ringing. 

If any little love of mine 

May make a life the sweeter, 
If any little care of mine 

May make a friend's the fleeter, 
If an}- lift of mine may ease 

The burden of another, 
God give me love and care and strength 

To help my toiling brother. 

It is the way we do the little things that shows how 
we will do the great ones. 

« 

Remember that if the opportunities for great deeds 
should never come, the opportunity for good deeds 
is renewed for you day by day. The thing for us to 
long for is the goodness, not the glory. 

F. W. Farrar. 



June 29. 



He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart ; who 
hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn de- 
ceitfully. He shall receive the blessing- from the 
Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salva- 
tion. — Ps. xxiv, 4, 5. 



Since Thou Thyself dost still display 

Unto the pure in heart, 
Oh, make us children of the day 

To know Thee as Thou art. 
For Thou art light and life and love ; 

And Thy redeemed below 
May see Thee as Thy saints above, 

And know Thee as they know. 

J. Montgomery. 



The pure in heart see God in everything, and see 
Him everywhere ; and they are supremely blessed. 

J. G. Holland. 

Certainly as the open eye drinks in the light, do 
the pure in heart see God. And he that lives truly, 
feels Him as a presence not to be put by. 

Theodore Parker. 



i86 



June 30. 



Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings 
and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? 
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to 
hearken than the fat of rams. — I Sam. xv, 22. 

But, above all, the victory is most sure 

For him, who, seeking faith by virtue, strives 

To yield entire obedience to the Law 

Of Conscience ; Conscience reverenced and obeyed, 

As God's most intimate presence in the soul, 

And His most perfect image in the world. 

W. Wordsworth. 

From the world of sin and noise 

And hurry I withdraw ; 
For the small and inward voice 

I wait with humble awe ; 
Silent am I now and still, 

Dare not in Thy presence move ; 
To my waiting soul reveal 

The secret of Thy love. 

C. Wesley. 

When therefore the smallest instinct or desire of 
thy heart calleth thee toward God, and a newness of 
life, give it time and leave to speak ; and take care 
thou refuse not Him that speaketh. ... Be retired, 
silent, passive, and humbly attentive to this new risen 
light within thee. 

Wm. Law. 

Precious above the price of the whole earth is 
every moment God speaks to the soul. 

Edward Bovverie Pusey. 



July i. 



187 



Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. — 
I Cor. x, 31. 

Teach me, my God and King, 

In all things Thee to see, 
And what I do in anything, 

To do it as for Thee. 

George Herbert. 

A little thoughtfulness goes a great way in the 
home, as well as in the larger social life : and the 
more close and intimate the association, the greater 
the need of this thoughtfulness in little things. There 
are few things so trying as the constant neglect and 
forgetfulness of trifles. Many a greater fault, many 
a serious error even, fails to give as much actual 
trouble, and produce so much discord in general, as 
the habit of never returning the thing that is bor- 
rowed ; of undue delay in answering notes ; of neglect- 
ing to perform any and all of those " trifles light as 
air" in themselves, but which, in the aggregate, make 
up so great a sum of human happiness. In fact, there 
is no more exasperating trait than thoughtlesness in 
trifles. It is even more so than in laiger and more 
significant matters. The important affair can well be 
spoken of and recalled duly to mind, but the unim- 
portant one is often difficult to discuss. One feels 
disinclined to ask another to do the thing that should 
have been done without asking. 

Carefulness in small things will do more to pro- 
mote an atmosphere of harmony in the household 
than almost any other one thing. 

Some of the devil's best work is done by careless 
people. 

Rams Horn. 

Be careful. A heedless word or act may cost you 
a year's work or a lifetime of pain. 



i88 



July 2. 



One that hath a pleasant voice. — Ezek. xxxiii, 32. 



Speak gently ; for 'tis like thy Lord, 
Whose accents meek and mild, 

Bespoke Him as the Son of God, 
The gracious, holy child. 



5. 5. Advocate. 



There is no one thing that love so much needs as 
a sweet voice to tell what it means and feels. One 
must start in youth, and be on watch night and day, 
at work and play, to get and keep a voice that shall 
speak at all times the thoughts of a kind heart. It is 
often in youth that one gets a voice or a tone that is 
sharp, and it sticks to him through life, and stirs up 
ill-will and grief, and falls like a drop of gall on the 
sweet joys of home. Watch it day by day as a pearl 
of great price, for it will be worth more to you than 
the best pearl hid in the sea. A kind voice is to the 
heart what light is to the eye ; it is a light that sings 
as well as shines. 

Elihu Burritt. 



July 3. 



189 



Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about 
with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside 
every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset 
us, and let us run with patience the race that is set 
before us. — Heb. xii, i. 

" I am working alone, and no one heeds !" 

Who says so does not know ; 
There are clear eyes watching on every side, 

And wherever our feet may go, 
We are " compassed about with so great a cloud " 

That, if we could only see, 
We could never think that our life is small, 

Or that we may unnoticed be. 



We seem to suffer and bear alone 

Life's burdens and all its care ; 
And the sighs and prayers of the heavy heart 

Vanish into the air ; 
But we do not suffer or work alone ; 

And after a victory won, 
Who knows how happy the hosts may be 

W T ho whisper a soft " Well done "? 

Oh, do not deem that it matters not 

How you live your life below ; 
It matters much to the heedless crowd 

That you see go to and fro ; 
For all that is noble and high and good 

Has an influence on the res 1 ", 
And the world is better for every one 

Who is living at his best ! 

The providence of God, that cares for the universe 
as a whole, that takes it at the beginning and holds 
it to the consummation, that we cannot see or know, 
that we can only dimly guess — this same mighty, all- 
grasping order of God's providence considers my 
affairs ; not simply nations, not simply cities, not 
simply families, but you and me, the leaf on the tree, 
the bird that sings on the bough, the flower that 
springs out of the sod. 

M. J. Savage. 



190 July 4. 

Train up a child in the way he should go : and 
when he is old, he will not depart from it. — Prov. 
xxii, 6. 

What should little children learn 
To ensure the best return, 
All in the springtime early? 
How to sing when skies are gray ; 
How to smooth another's way ; 
How to smile through bitter tears ; 
How to hope away all fears ; 
How to carry bravest heart 
Cheerily through every part ; 
How to praise a rival's skill ; 
How to yield to wiser will ; 
How to keep the temper sweet; 
How to wait with patient feet ; 
How to let a treasure go 
To relieve another's woe ; 
How to be a little sun, 
Shedding light on every one. 

Harper's Young People. 

The manner of saying or doing anything goes a 
great way toward the value of the thing itself. 

Seneca. 

Living without a plan is as foolish as going to sea 
without a compass in the ship. 

Where there is no settled determination to do 
right, an evil course is more than half decided upon. 

Ram's Horn. 



July 5. 191 

But be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves 
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and 
making melody in your heart to the Lord. — Eph. v, 
18, 19. 

There are in this loud stunning tide 

Of human care and crime, 
With whom the melodies abide 

Of th' everlasting chime ; 
Who carry music in their heart 
Through dusky lane and wrangling mart, 
Plying their daily task with busier feet, 
Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat. 

J. Keble. 

Resignation to the Divine Will signifies a cheerful 
approbation and thankful acceptance of everything 
that comes from God. It is not enough patiently to 
submit, but we must thankfully receive and fully ap- 
prove of everything that, by the order of God's prov- 
idence, happens to us. For there is no reason why 
we should be patient, but what is as good and as 
strong a reason why we should be thankful. When- 
ever, therefore, you find yourself disposed to uneasi- 
ness or murmuring at anything that is the effect of 
God's providence over you, you must look upon your- 
self as' denying either the wisdom or goodness of 
God. 

William Law. 



192 



July 6. 



Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in re- 
proaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses 
for Christ's sake : for when I am weak, then am I 
strong. — II Cor. xii, 10. 

All my life I still have found, 

And I will forget it never ; 
Every sorrow hath its bound, 

And no cross endures forever. 
All things else have but their day, 
God's love only lasts for aye. 

P. Gerhardt. 

What the woof is to the warp, crosses are to char- 
acter. Without the latter the former is nothing but 
limp lines of thread without strength, without useful- 
ness, without susceptibility of being made beautiful. 
But when crossed by the woof it becomes cloth fit for 
various uses, and capable of receiving a finish and 
ornamentation which transforms it into a thing of 
beauty. In like manner a man's character is limp, 
weak, unreliable, and unattractive until it has been 
subjected to many tests and trials. These, like the 
woof, cross and recross one's natural tendencies until 
resistance to evil begets strength, endurance, growth, 
and'moral beauty. Why, then, should one fret against 
ones crosses ? They are painful, vexatious,, hard to 
be borne sometimes, but what are these ills, which 
are but for a moment, when compared with the ex- 
ceeding and eternal weight of glory with which they 
are to be rewarded when the last one has been over- 
come ? The brilliants in one's eternal crown will be 
the crosses of one's present life crystallized in the 
love and light of Heaven, 



July 7. 



But as many as receive Him. to them gave He 
power to become the sons of God. even to them that 
believe on His name. — John i, 12. 



The name of Jesus is a store of all that heart can need, 
Enfolding every precious thing — fruit, blossom, leaf, and seed, 
He spends his time most worthily who seeks that Name to 
know. 

Its ocean fullness riseth still as ages onward flow : 

Thy precious name, Lord Jesus Christ, is better far to me 

Than all the wealth that can be found, in earth or air or sea. 



All that I ever undertake. I would begin in Thee, 
Thee first. Thee last, Thee midst, O Christ, and ever more 
to be. 

JOHANN HEERMAN. 

They that love Christ love to think of Him, love to 
hear of Him. and love to read of Him. They love to 
speak of Him, for Him, to Him. They love His 
presence, His yoke, His name. His will is their law, 
His dishonor is their affliction, His cause is their care, 
His people are their companions, His day is their de- 
light. His word is their guide. His glory is their end. 
They had rather ten thousand times surfer for Christ 
than that He should suffer by them. 

The knowledge of His power and influence as a 
Saviour is calculated to inspire us with a never-fail- 
ing hope. It speaks comfort to the penitent. It con- 
soles the trembling and afflicted. It calms the fears 
of conscience. It gives peace and security in good 
days. It lends its sanction to the best enjoyments. It 
confirms the confidence of faith. It lifts the heart 
above the trials and the griefs which may befall us. 
It furnishes a sure stay amidst the changes of this 
transitory life. 

Bishop Potter, 



13 



194 



July 8. 



A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. — Prov. 
xvii, 22. 

Why not take life with cheerful trust, 

With faith in the strength of weakness? 
The slenderest daisy rears its head 
With courage and with meekness. 
A sunny face 
Hath holy grace 
To woo the sun forever. 

Mary Mapes Dodge. 

Laughing cheerfulness throws sunlight on all the 
paths of life. 

Jean Paul Richter. 

What, indeed, does not that word cheerfulness im- 
ply ? It means a contented spirit ; it means a pure 
heart ; it means a kind, loving disposition ; it means 
humility and charity ; it means a generous apprecia- 
tion of others, and a modest opinion of self. 

William Makepeace Thackeray. 

It is part of my religion to look well after the cheer- 
fulnesses of life, and let the dismals shift for them- 
selves, believing with good Sir Thomas More that it 
is wise to be " merrie in God." 

Louisa May Alcott. 



July 9. 



19s 



But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost 
thou set at nought thy brother ? for we shall all stand 
before the judgment-seat of Christ. — Rom. xiv, 10. 

The glance that doth thy neighbor doubt, 

Turn thou, O man, within, 
And see if it will not bring out 

Some unsuspected sin. 
To hide from shame the branded brow, 

Make broad thy charity, 
And judge no man except as thou 

Wouldst have him judge of thee. 

Alice Cary. 



God's ways seem dark, but, soon or late, 
They touch the shining hills of day. 
The evil cannot brook delay, 

The good can well afford to wait. 

J. G. Whittier. 

Like a man, and you will judge him with more or 
less fairness ; dislike him, fairly or unfairly, and you 
cannot fail to judge him unjustly. 

George Macdonald. 

God sees us altogether, not in" separate feelings or 
actions, as our fellow-men see us. We are always 
doing each other injustice, because we only hear sep- 
arate feelings or actions ; we don't see each other's 
whole nature, 

George Eliot. 



July to. 



I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith 
the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give 
you an expected end. — Jer. xxix, n. 

Thy thoughts are good, and Thou art kind, 

E'en when we think it not ; 
How many an anxious, faithless mind 

Sits grieving o'er its lot. 
And frets and pines by day and night, 
As God had lost it out of sight, 

And all its wants forgot. 

P. Gerhardt. 

Accept your lot as a man does a piece of rugged 
ground, and begin to get out the rocks and roots, to 
deepen and mellow the soil, to enrich and plant it. 

Henry Ward Beecher, 

Our whole trouble in our lot in this world rises 
from the disagreement of our mind therewith. Let 
the mind be brought to the lot. and the whole tumult 
is instantly hushed ; let it be kept in that disposition, 
and the man shall stand at ease, in his affliction, like 
a rock unmoved with waters beating upon it. 

T. Boston. 

We ought to measure our actual lot, and to fulfill 
it : to be with all our strength, that which our lot re- 
quires and allows. What is beyond it is no calling 
of ours. How much peace, quiet, confidence, and 
strength would people attain, if they would go by this 
plain rule. 

H. E. Manning. 



July ii. 



197 



I will even make a way in the wilderness, and 
rivers in the desert. — Isa, xliii, 19. 

He holds our hands and He guides our steps, 

He goes with us all the way ; 
When all else is left for His blessed sake, 

Then Jesus Himself doth stay ; 
And following fully with single heart, 

Each grain of His golden wheat 
Shall bring forth fruit to eternal life, 

For we sow at the Master's feet. 

The Children } s World. 

So long- as our existence lasts, we must not give 
up the duty of cheerfulness and hope. He who has 
guided us through the day will guide us through the 
night also. The pillar of darkness often turns into a 
pillar of fire. Have patience and perseverance ; be- 
lieve that there is still a future before us, and we shall 
at last reach the haven where we would be. 

Arthur Penrhyn Stanley. 

Abandon yourself to His care and guidance, as a 
sheep in the care of a shepherd, and trust Him utterly. 
No matter though you may seem to yourself to be in 
the very midst of a desert, with nothing green about 
you, inwardly or outwardly, and may think you will 
have to make a long journey before you can get into 
the green pastures. Our Shepherd will turn that very 
place where you are into green pastures, for He has 
power to make the desert rejoice and blossom as a 
rose. 

H. W. S. 



July 12. 



If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as 
with sons. — Heb. xii, 7. 

Behold, we count them happy which endure. — 
James v, 11. 

Trials must and will befall ; 

But with humble faith to see 
Love inscribed upon them all, 

This is happiness to me. 

William Cowper. 

Never keep a trouble half an hour on your own 
mind before 3-ou tell it to your Heavenly Father. As 
soon as the trouble comes, quick, the first thing, tell 
it to Him. Remember that the longer you delay tell- 
ing your trouble to God, the more } T our peace will be 
impaired. The longer the frost lasts, the more likely 
that the pond will be frozen. 

C. H. Spurgeon. 

To shake off trouble we must set about doing good 
to somebod}^. Put on your hat, and go and visit the 
poor ; inquire into their wants and administer unto 
them ; seek out the desolate and oppressed, and tell 
them of the consolation of religion. 

John Howard. 

A great help to cheerfulness under trials is found 
in living just one day, one hour, one minute at a time. 
Why should w T e live again the troubles of the past. 
They are over. Why should we anticipate the 
troubles that are in the future ; wh} T cross hedges or 
dangerous streams till we come to them ? 

Another help in enduring trial is the remembrance 
of former deliverances. How many times the way 
before us has seemed to close in, and, a little way in 
the distance, to come to an absolute end, but when 
we got to that end we found onry a turning and a 
path still leading on. We all do get through some- 
how. No one was ever known to stick by the way. 

The Living Church. 



July 13. 



199 



Wait on the Lord : be of good courage, and He 
shall strengthen thy heart : wait, I say, on the Lord. — 
Ps. xxvii, 14. 

Only God knows the trials that we bear, 
The weary longing for a different fate, 

The daily struggle and the anxious care, — 
He knows, and we can wait. 

Only God knows, — we have no want beside ! 

Our Father watches o'er us from above ; 
We feel our weakness, but His hand will guide, 

He knows, and He is Love ! 

M. L. Dickinson. 

Working or waiting, our souls will hang on Him. 
And waiting, as we must recognize and remember, is 
a sacrifice of self, a real martyrdom no less than 
working. To win the soul in patience, to bear the 
trial of delay, to watch for the dawn through the chill 
hours which precede it, to keep fresh and unsullied 
the great hope that Christ will come, is a witness to 
the powers of the unseen world, which the Spirit of 
God alone can make possible. 

Brooke Foss Westcott. 



200 



July 14. 



The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to 
the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man 
should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation 
of the Lord. — Lam. iii, 25, 26. 

In the bitter waves of woe, 

Beaten and tossed about 
By the sullen winds that blow 

From the desolate shores of doubt, 
Where the anchors that faith has cast 

Are dragging in the gale, 
I am quietly holding fast 

To the things that cannot fail. 



I know that right is right ; 

That it is not good to lie ; 
That love is better than spite, 

And a neighbor than a spy ; 
I know that passion needs 

The leash of a sober mind : 
I know that generous deeds 

Some sure reward w T ill find. 



And fierce though the fiends may fight, 

And long though the angels hide, 
I know that truth and right 

Have the universe on their side ; 
And that somewhere beyond the stars 

Is a love that is better than fate, 
When the night unlocks her bars 

I shall see Him — and I will wait. 

Washington Gladden. 

It is one excellent effect of grace that it doth en- 
able the soul to wait on God for things that are most 
difficult to be brought to passe. Corruption teacheth 
the heart to wrangle with God, but grace teacheth 
the heart to waite on God. Sense only mindes things 
present, but faith mindes things that are a great way 
off. It is as willing to wait on God for a future good 
as it is to receive a present good. 

Ralph Robinson. 



July 15. 



201 



The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a 
refuge in times of trouble. And they that know Thy 
name will put their trust in Thee ; for Thou, Lord, 
hast not forsaken them that seek Thee, — Ps. ix, 

They who on the Lord rely, 
Safely dwell though danger's nigh ; 
Lo ! His sheltering wings are spread 
O'er each faithful servant's head. 
When they wake, or when the}' sleep, 
Angel guards their vigils keep ; 
Death and danger may be near, 
Faith and love have naught to fear. 

Harriet Auber. 



He who never connects God w T ith his daily life 
knows nothing of the spiritual meanings and uses of 
life ; nothing of the calm, strong patience with which 
ills may be endured ; of the gentle, tender comfort 
which the Father's love can minister; of the blessed 
rest to be realized in His forgiving love, His tender 
Fatherhood ; of the deep, peaceful sense of the Infinite 
One ever near, a refuge and a strength. 

F. W. Farrar. 

God is Himself the highest object to which the 
soul in all its powers can be directed. None ever 
trusted in Him without increasing in spiritual 
strength ; none ever trusted in Him without discover- 
ing more and more of the plans of His providence, 
and of the depth of His unsearchable wisdom ; none 
ever trusted in Him without tasting largely of His 
bounty. To trust in God, in its more advanced state, 
is to have the image of His perfection ever before 
us, to live in His continual presence, encircled, as it 
were, by the visible forms of His majesty and good- 
ness. 

Thomas Bowdler. 



202 



July 16. 



Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and 
hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, . . . 
Having your conversation honest among the Gen- 
tiles ; that, whereas they speak against you as evil- 
doers, they may by your good works, which they 
shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. — I 
Peter ii, 12. 

Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou 
shalt not escape calumny. 

Shakespeare. 

Slander meets no regard from noble minds, 
Only the base believe what the base only utter. 

Beller. 

To persevere in one's duty and to be silent is the 
best answer to calumny. 

George Washington. 

I never listen to calumnies, because if they are un- 
true I run the risk of being deceived ; and if they be 
true, of hating persons not worth thinking about. 

Montesquieu. 

If any speak ill of thee, flee home to thy own con- 
science and examine thy heart; if thou be guilty, it is 
a just correction ; if not guilty, it is a fair instruction ; 
make use of both ; so shall thou distil honev out of 
gall, and out of an open enemy create a secret friend. 

Francis Quarles. 

The surest method against scandal is to live it down 
by perseverance in well-doing, and by prayer to God 
that He would cure the distempered mind of those 
who traduce and injure us. 

Hermann Boerhaave. 



There would not be so many open mouths if there 
were not so many open ears. 

Joseph Hall. 



July 17. 



203 



In quietness and in confidence shall be your 
strength. — Is A. xxx, 15. 

Be still, my soul ! Thy God doth undertake 
To guide the future, as He has the past : 

Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake, 
All now mysterious shall be bright at last. 

J. Borthwick. 

Confidence is that feeling by which the mind em- 
barks in great and honorable courses with a sure 
hope and trust in itself. 

Cicero. 

A mind may be still though active ; and the quiet- 
ness which is part of the k ' confidence " we have in 
Him, the Christ, is only found in the close abiding in 
Him, emblemed in His own parable of the Vine and 
the branches. 

Rose Porter. 

The grandest operations, both in nature and in 
grace, are the most silent and imperceptible. The 
shallow brook babbles in its passage and is heard by 
every one, but the coming on of the seasons is silent 
and unseen ; the storm rages and alarms, but its fury 
is soon exhausted and its effects are partial and soon 
remedied, but the dew, though gentle and unheard, is 
immense in quantity, and the very life of large por- 
tions of the earth. And these, are pictures of the 
operations of grace in the Church and in the soul. 

Richard Cecil. 

The heart that is to be filled to the brim with holy 
joy must be held still. 

Bowes. 



204 July 18. 



For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have 
done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 
— Heb. x, 36. 

How poor are they who have not patience ! 
What wound did ever heal but by degrees? 

Shakespeare. 

Seeing we live for this life among so many and great 
perils and dangers, we must be well assured by God's 
Word how to bear them and how patiently to take 
them as they be sent to us from God. We must also 
assure ourselves that there is no other remedy for 
Christians in the time of trouble than Christ Himself 
hath appointed us. In St. Luke He giveth us this 
commandment : Ye shall possess your lives in pa- 
tience, saith He. In the which words He giveth us 
both commandment what to do and also great con- 
solation and comfort in all our troubles. He showeth 
also what is to be done and what is to be hoped for 
in troubles ; and when troubles happen He biddeth us 
be patient, and in no case violently nor seditiously to 
resist our persecutors, because God hath such care 
and charge of us that He will keep in the midst of all 
troubles the very hairs of our head, so that one of 
them should not fall away without the Will and pleas- 
ure of our Heavenly Father. Whether the hair, 
therefore, tarry on the head or fall from the head, it is 
the Will of the Father. And seeing he hath such 
care for the hairs of our head, how much more doth 
He care for life itself! Wherefore let God's adversa- 
ries do what they list, whether they take the life or 
take it not, they can do us no hurt, for their cruelty 
hath no further power than God permitteth them ; and 
that which cometh unto us by the Will of our Hea- 
venly Father can be no harm, no loss, neither de- 
struction unto us, but rather gain, wealth, and felicity. 
For all troubles and adversity that chance to such as 
be of God, by the Will of the Heavenly Father, can be 
none but gain and advantage. 

John Hooper. 



July 19. 



205 



We also are men of like passions with you, and 
preach unto you that ye should turn from these van- 
ities unto the living God, which made heaven, and 
earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein. — 
Acts xiv, 15. 

How terrible is passion ! how our reason 
Falls down before it, while the tortur'd frame, 
Like a ship dash'd by fierce encountering tides, 
And of her pilot spoil'd, drives round and round, 
The sport of wind and wave. 

Barford. 

The worst of slaves is he whom passion rules. 

Brooke. 

Passion is the drunkenness of the mind. 

Dr. Robert South. 

Our headstrong passions shut the door of our souls 
against God. 

Confucius. 

He only employs his passion who can make no use 
of his reason. 

Cicero. 

Some passions cannot be regulated, but must be 
entirely cut off. 

Seneca. 

We ne'er are angels till our passions die. 

Thomas Dekker. 
The passions are the gales of life, and it is religion 
only that can prevent them from rising into a tempest, 

Dr. Isaac Watts. 
Lose not thyself, nor give thy humors way ; God 
gave them to thee under lock and key. 

George Herbert. 



206 



July 20. 



Ye shall know them by their fruits. — Matt, vii, 16. 
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his 
work be pure, and whether it be right. — Prov. xx. ii. 

All must work, with head or hand, 
For self or others,, good or ill ; 

Life is ordained to bear, like land, 
Some fruit, be fallow as it will. 

Lord Houghton. 

You cannot set the world aright, or the times, but 
you can do something for the truth : and all you can 
do will certainly tell if the work you do is for the Mas- 
ter, who gives you your share, and so the burden of 
responsibility is lifted off. This assurance makes 
peace, satisfaction, and repose possible even in the 
partial work done upon earth. Go to the man who is 
carving a stone for a building ; ask him where that 
stone is going, to what part of the temple, and how 
he is going to get it into place, and what does he do ? 
He points you to the builder's plans. This is only one 
stone of many. So when men shall ask where and 
how is your little achievement going into God's plan, 
point them to your Master, who keeps the plans, and 
then go on doing your little service as faithfully as if 
the whole temple were yours to build. 

Phillips Brooks. 

Rightness expresses of actions what straightness 
does of lines ; and there can no more be two kind of 
right actions than there can be two kinds of straight 
lines. 

Herbert Spencer. 



July 21. 



207 



The Lord preserveth the faithful. — Ps. xxxi, 23. 

Devotion, when lukewarm, is undevout ; 
But, when it glows, its heat is struck to heaven : 
To human hearts her golden harps are strung- 
High heaven's orchestra chants Amen to man. 

Edward Young. 

The Christian has within him an index by which he 
may take cognizance and by which he may measure 
the elevation and degrees of his spirituality — it is the 
spirit of inward devotion. However difficult it may 
seem to be to pronounce on the invisibilities of our 
spirituality, yet there is a barometer to determine the 
elevation or depression of the spiritual principle. It 
marks the changes of the soul in its aspect toward God. 
As the spirit of prayer mounts up, there is true spirit- 
ual elevation ; and as it is restrained and falls low, 
there is a depression of the spiritual principle within 
us. As is the spirit of devotion and communion with 
God, such is the man. 

Richard Salter. 

Devotion is the sole asylum of human frailty, and 
the sole support of heavenly perfection : it is the 
golden chain of union between heaven and earth ; 
keeps open the blessed communication. . . . He that 
has never prayed can never conceive, and he that has 
prayed as he ought can never forget, how much is to 
be gained by prayer. 

Matthew Young. 



2o8 



July 22. 



Walk as children of light : (for the fruit of the 
Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth ;) 
proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. — Eph. v, S, 
9, 10. 

When men's intentions are wicked, their guilt haunts them. 
But when they're just they're armed, and nothing daunts them. 

Thomas Middletox. 

Goodness is an energy and a growth, not a miracle. 

H. R. Haweis. 

What is a bud in a forest ? yet it is as beautiful as 
if alone. What is one snowflake of the mantle that 
wraps the mountain-top ? yet it is perfect as if alone, 
and reflects part of the early golden light of the 
advancing sun. Each man is a man. and ma)* have 
his individuality of work and worth. A good man 
among the good is as one of the drops on which God 
paints the rainbow ; for good men are to the world 
its rainbow of Divine promise and hope, and the 
goodness of no man is lost. Every rainbow does its 
part in dissolving light into color, and though we 
may seem to ourselves like those drops which, falling 
near our window, make to us no part of the bow. yet 
we too have our brightness and place, forming part 
of the arch as seen by some — that arch which " the 
hands of the Most High have bended." . . . We. and 
our work and our history, all have worth, and may 
have special worth. 

Bishop Lynch Cotton. 

The soul is strong that trusts in goodness. 

Philip Massinger. 

Goodness is beauty in its best estate. 

Christopher Marlowe. 



July 23. 



And let us not be weary in well-doing ; for in due 
season we shall reap if we faint not. — Gal. vi, 9. 

Everything should be done to the letter, 

And done with might and with main, 
And if you think it might have been better, 
Try it again. 

Never despair, but keep a bright face ; 

The little word " can't," oh, disdain ; 
And if you find you don't win the first race, 
Try it again. 

Every one thinks their mishaps the worst, 

But the sunshine comes after the rain ; 
Ah ! if you want to have the clouds burst, 
Try it again. 

Never look on the side that's so dark, 

But the storm and the tempest disdain ; 
If at first 3 t ou fall short of your mark, 
Try it again. 

If by two steps behind to one up the steep 

You the height of ambition don't gain, 
Only look up, and plant firmer your feet, 
And try it again. 

The tendency to persevere, to persist in spite of 
hindrances, discouragements, and impossibilities — 
it is this that in all things distinguishes the strong- 
soul from the weak. 

Carlyle. 

Because perseverance is so difficult, even when 
supported by the grace of God, thence is the value 
of new beginnings. For new beginnings are the life 
of perseverance. 

E. B. Pusey. 



2IO 



July 24. 



He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty ; 
and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a 
city. — Prov. xvi, 32. 



Keep a watch on your words, my sisters, 

For words are wonderful things ; 
They are sweet, like the bee's fresh honey — 

Like bees they have terrible stings ! 
They can bless like the warm, glad sunshine, 

And brighten a lonely life ; 
They can cut in the strife of anger, 

Like an open two-edged knife. 



Let them pass through the lips unchallenged, 

If their errand is true and kind — 
If they come to support the weary, 

To comfort and help the blind ; 
If a bitter, revengeful spirit 

Prompt the words, let them be unsaid ; 
They may flash through a brain like lightning, 

Or fall on the heart like lead. 



Keep them back, if they're cold and cruel, 

Under bar and lock and seal ; 
The wounds they make, my sisters, 

Are always slow to heal. 
God guard your lips, and ever, 

From the time of your early youth, 
May the words that you daily utter 

Be the words of beautiful truth. 



If there is any person to whom you feel dislike, that 
is the person of whom you ought never to speak. 

R. Cecil. 



July 25. 



21 1 



The Lord heareth your murmurings, which ye mur- 
mur against Him. — Ex. xvi, 8. 

Stand back and see the Glory of the Lord. 
Such joy with murmurings doth ill accord. 
Fear not, but trust thy cause unto His care ; 
He loves thee well, and will thy way prepare. 
When He is with thee, thou art stronger far 
Than all who try thy happiness to mar. 
Thy battles thou wilt win by His great might ; 
O trust Him, then, and try to do the right. 

Blessings go as quickly as they come : therefore 
bear thy lot patiently. Murmur not, and remember 
that the gods never lay a heavier weight on any man 
than he can bear. Hast thou a wounded heart ? 
touch it as seldom as thou wouldst a sore eye. There 
are only two remedies for heart-sickness — hope and 
patience. 

Pythagoras (550 b. c). 

He who complains, or thinks he has a right to com- 
plain, because he is called in God's Providence to 
suffer, has something within him which needs to be 
taken aw T ay. A soul whose will is lost in God's will 
can never do this. Sorrow r may exist, but complaint 
never. 

Catherine Adorna. 



212 



July 26. 



Comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be 
patient toward all men. — I Thess. v, 14. 

Let us run with patience the race that is set before 
us. — Heb. xii, 1. 

With patience, then, the course of duty run ; 
God never does, or suffers to be done, 
But that which you would do if you could see 
The end of all events as well as He. 

We have need of patience with ourselves and with 
others ; with those below and those above us, and 
with our own equals ; with those who love us and 
those who love us not ; for the greatest things and 
for the least ; against sudden inroads of trouble, and 
under our daily burdens ; disappointments as to the 
weather, or the breaking of the heart ; in the weari- 
ness of the body, or the wearing of the soul ; in our 
own failure of duty, or other's failure toward us ; in 
everyday wants, or in the aching of sickness or the 
decay of age ; in disappointment, bereavement, losses, 
injuries, reproaches ; in heaviness of heart, or its 
sickness amid delayed hopes. In all these things, 
from childhood's little troubles to the martyr's suffer- 
ings, patience is the grace of God, whereby we en- 
dure evil for the love of God. 

E. B. Pusey. 



July 27. 



213 



He that is not against us is for us. — Luke ix, 50. 

They are slaves who fear to speak 

For the fallen and the weak ; 

They are slaves who will not choose 

Hatred, scoffing, and abuse, 

Rather than in silence shrink 

From the truth they needs must think ; 

They are slaves who dare not be 

In the right with two or three. 

James Russell Lowell, 

The real corrupters of society may be, not the cor- 
rupt, but those who have held back the righteous 
leaven, the salt that has lost its savor, the inno- 
cent who have not the moral courage to show what 
they think of the effrontery of impurity — the serious, 
who yet timidly succumb before some loud-voiced 
scoffer — the heart trembling all over with religious 
sensibilities that yet suffers itself through false shame 
to be beaten down into outward and practical acqui- 
escence by some rude and worldly nature. 

J. H. Thom. 

Have the courage to cut the most agreeable ac- 
quaintance you have when you are convinced that he 
lacks principle ; a friend should bear with a friend's 
infirmities, but not with his vices. 

New York Star. 



214 



July 28. 



The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at 
the gates of the righteous. — Prov. xiv, 19. 

But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is 
godly for Himself. — Ps. iv, 3. 

Clothe me, Lord, with holiness, 

With meek humility ; 
Put on me that glorious dress, — 

Endue my soul with Thee : 
Let Thine image be restored ; 

Thy name and nature let me prove : 
With Thy fullness fill me. Lord, 

And perfect me in love. 

Charles Wesley. 

Godliness is a wonderful thing ; it commandeth 
reverence, and the stooping of the spirit, even of the 
ungodly ones. Godliness puts such a majesty and 
dread upon the professors of it. that their enemies 
are afraid of them ; yea, even then when they rage 
against them, and lay heavy afflictions upon them. It 
is marvellous to see in what fear the ungodly are, 
even of godly men and godliness ; in that they stir 
up the mighty, make edicts against them, yea, and 
raise up armies, and what else can be imagined, to 
suppress them ; while the persons thus opposed, if you 
consider them as to their state and capacity in this 
world, are the most inconsiderable. Oh, but they are 
clothed with godliness ; the image and presence of 
God is upon them. This makes the beasts of this 
world afraid. " One of you shall chase a thousand." 

John Bunyan. 

The ornament and beaut}' of this lower world, next 
to God and His wonders, are the men that spangle 
and shine in godliness. Ibid. 



July 29. 



Blessed is he that considereth the poor : the Lord 
will deliver him in time of trouble. — Ps. xli, i. 

Sometimes a heart is prompted to a deed 

Designed to aid a brother in distress, 
Yet in its action it forgets their need 

Of fellow-feeling, whose good-will can bless, 
The gift is taken with raised, pleading eyes, 

For look or word with sympathetic ring ; 
But vain the search — they fall to mute surprise 

Beneath a stony glance that held a sting. 

Another, having less to give of gold, 

Throws o'er his mite the radiance of a smile, 
And, with a tenderness sweet to behold, 

Offers a boon hiding no sting or guile. 
Thus coming, with remembered smile and word, 

Despair retreats, while Hope returns to bless. 
Hearts lightened thus to efforts fresh are spurred, 

Which may at length be crowned with sure success. 

To give aright the soul should be aflame 

With love and pity, charged with smiles for all ; 
Then sums, though small, a large return may claim, 

While lavish ones unblessed around may fall. 
Our aim should be to cheer when we bestow, 

So with each boon let loving smiles be given ; 
Impoverished hearts may leap by smiles from woe 

To hopes exultant, thence to love and Heaven. 

He that does good to another man, does also good 
to himself; not only in the consequences, but in the 
very act of doing it ; for the consciousness of well- 
doing is an ample reward. 

Seneca. 



2l6 



July 30. 



Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are 
unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, 
be patient toward all men. — I Thess. v, 14. 

Help us, O Lord ! with patient love to bear ; 

Each other's faults to suffer with true meekness ; 
Help us each other's joys and griefs to share, 

But let us turn to Thee alone in weakness. 

From The Changed Cross. 

It is so difficult to bear with patience and allow- 
ances the faults of others. One is very mistaken to 
think that the great occasions of life only demand 
religious feelings and principles ; it is in the every- 
day petty annoyances, the constant call upon our 
charity, forbearance, and meekness, that we feel the 
constant want of some stronger and more powerful 
stimulant than the feeling of the moment to smoothe 
down the rubs of life, and make our existence one of 
peace and happiness. 

Maria Hare. 

Endeavor to be patient in bearing with the defects 
and infirmities of others, of what sort soever they be ; 
for that thyself also hast many failings which must be 
borne with by others. If thou canst not make thyself 
such an one as thou wouldst, how canst thou expect 
to have another in all things to thy liking? 

Thcmas a Kempis. 



July 31. 



21 7 



The words of a tale-bearer are as wounds. — Prov. 
xviii, 8. 

Save us from the evil tongue. 
From the heart that tbinketh wrong, 
From the sins, whatever they be 
That divide the soul from Thee. 

Anon. 

One of our ministers told a great truth when he 
said, " Find a gossip and you will find a liar." And 
you'll find the worst kind of a liar at that. The gossip 
is a curse to the community in which he or she lives. 

Baltimore World. 

"Cure for a terrible disease of the mouth called 
4 Scandal :' Take of good nature one ounce ; of an 
herb commonly called by the Indians 1 mind-your- 
own-businesSj' an ounce ; mix this with a little charity 
for others and two or three sprigs of ' keep-your- 
tongue-between-your-teeth ;' simmer them together 
in a vessel called 1 circumspection ' for a time, and it 
will be fit for use. Application : the symptoms are 
a violent itching in the tongue and roof of the mouth, 
which invariably takes place when you are with a 
kind of being called a gossip. When you feel a 
turn of it coming on, take a teaspoonful of the above, 
hold it in your mouth, which you should keep closely 
shut, until you get home, and you will find a complete 
cure. Should you apprehend a relapse, keep a phial 
full about you, and on feeling the slightest symptoms, 
repeat the dose." 



August i. 



218 



Be ye kind to one another. — Eph. iv, 32. 



A kindly act is a kernel sown, 

That will grow to a goodly tree, 
Shedding its fruits when time has flown 

Down the gulf of eternity. 

John Boyle O'Reilly. 

The sunshine of life is made up of very little beanie 
that are bright all the time. In the nursery, on the 
play-ground, and in the school-room, there is room 
all the time for little acts of kindness ; they cost noth- 
ing, but are worth more than gold or silver. To give 
up something, where giving up will prevent unhappi- 
ness ; to yield, when persisting will chafe and fret 
others ; to go a little around, rather than come against 
another ; to take an ill word or a cross look, rather 
than resent or return it ; these are the ways in which 
clouds and storms are kept off, and a pleasant, smil- 
ing sunshine secured even in the humble home, 
among very poor people, as in families in higher 
stations. Much that we term the miseries of life 
would be avoided by adopting this rule of conduct. 

He who receives a good turn should never forget 
it ; he who does one should never remember it. 

Charron. 



August 2. 



219 



Be careful for nothing ; but in everything by prayer 
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests 
be made known unto God. — Phil, iv, 6. 

No answer comes to those that pray 

And idly stand, 
And wait for stones to roll away 

At God's command ; 
He will not break the binding cords 

Upon us laid, 
If we depend on pleading words 

And will not aid. 

Anonymous. 

Prayer was never meant to be a substitute for labor 
— an easy way of throwing our responsibilities upon 
God. The old classic story of the teamster whose 
cart stuck in the mud, and who fell to crying to Her- 
cules for help instead of using every effort himself, 
and was told by the god he invoked to put his own 
shoulder to the wheel, shows that even a heathen 
mind could see that faith was never meant to exclude 
w r orks. 

Anonymous. 



220 



AUGUST 3. 



For Thou art my rock and my fortress ; therefore for 
Thy name's sake lead me, and guide me. — Ps. xxxi, 3. 

Thus would we go for the Name of our Master 
Day after day as His will may propose ; 

Fired with a zeal that shall carry us forward 
Asking no questions, content that He knows. 

Doing the work He assigns, with devotion ; 

Losing ourselves in the love of our King ; 
Happy to win His bright smile of approval ; 

Glad, to His garner some tribute to bring. 

Charlotte Murray. 

He began to talk very gently about different sorts 
of kindness, and that if I wished to be kind like a 
Christian, I must be kind without hoping for any 
reward, whether gratitude or anything else. He told 
me that the best followers of Jesus in all times had 
tried hard to do everything, however small, for God's 
sake, and to put themselves away. 

Juliana H. Ewixg. 



August 4. 



221 



We desire that every one of you do show the same 
diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end. 
— Heb. vi, 11. 

Thou strictly hast enjoined us, Lord, 

To learn Thy sacred will ; 
And all our diligence employ 

Thy statutes to Fulfill. 

O then that Thy most holy will 

Might o'er- my ways preside ; 
And I the course of all my life 

By Thy direction guide ! 

Be diligent, after thy power, to do deeds of love. 
Think nothing too little, nothing too low, to do 
lovingly for the sake of God. Bear with infirmities, 
ungentle tempers, contradictions ; visit, if thou mayest, 
the sick ; relieve the poor ; forego thyself and thine 
own ways for love ; and He whom in them thou 
lovest, to whom in them thou ministerest will own 
thy love, and will pour His own love into thee. 

E. B. Pusey. 



222 



AUGUST 5. 



The Lord is loving unto every man ; and His mercy 
is over all His works— Ps. cxlv, 9. 

Teach me to feel another's woe, 

To hide the fault I see, 
That mercy I to others show 

That mercy show to me. 

Alexander Pope. 

" Count up your mercies," girls, and see how many 
they are ; then count up your chances for receiving 
more mercies, and find out how even more numerous 
they are. If you do not get any comfort out of this, 
why, you haven't counted right. You have left hun- 
dreds uncounted. Then look closer, and try it over 
again. 

A. H. Ryder. 

And to be true, and speak my soul, when I survey 
the occurrences of my life, and call into account the 
finger of God, I can perceive nothing but an abyss 
and mass of mercies, either in general to mankind, 
or in particular to myself ; and whether out of the 
prejudice of my affection, or an inverting and partial 
conceit of His mercies, I know not ; but those which 
others term crosses, afflictions, judgments, misfor- 
tunes, to me, who inquire farther into them than their 
visible effects, they both appear, and in event have 
ever proved, the secret and dissembled favors of His 
affection. 

Slr T. Browne. 



August 6. 



223 



Rejoice evermore. In everything give thanks. — 
I Thess. v, 16, 18. 

Lord, with glowing heart I'd praise Thee 

For the bliss Thy love bestows, 
For the pardoning grace that saves me, 

And the peace that from it flows ; 
Help, O God, my weak endeavor ; 

This dull soul to rapture raise : 
Thou must light the flame, or never 

Can my love be warmed to praise. 

Francis S. Key. 

Gratitude is a debt which all men owe, and which 
few pay cheerfully. 

If gratitude is due from man to man, how much 
more from man to his Maker ! The Supreme Being 
does not only confer upon us those bounties which 
proceed more immediately from His hand, but even 
those benefits which are conveyed to us by others. 
Every blessing we enjoy, by what means soever it 
may be derived upon us, is the gift of Him who is the 
great Author of good and Father of mercies. 



224 



AUGUST 7. 



Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which 
doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience 
the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the 
author and finisher of our faith. — Heb. xii, i, 2. 



He doeth well who doeth his best ; 

He doeth well who strives ; 
Noblest efforts may sometimes fail, 

Never noble lives. 
Work the six days, pray all seven ; 
Trust the rest to the grace of Heaven. 



He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves 
and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. 

Burke. 



No man knows his powers, whether he is capable 
of great or only little things, until he has tested them 
by actual trial. 

Matthews. 



AUGUST 8. 



225 



But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with 
patience wait for it. — Rom. vih, 25. 



Be strong to hope, O heart, 

Though day is bright, 
The stars can only shine 

In the dark night, 
Be strong, O heart of mine, 

Look toward the light. 

Anonymous. 



Hope is the mainspring of human action ; Faith 
seals our lease of immortality ; and Charity and Love 
give the passport to the soul's true and lasting happi- 
ness. 

Street. 



Hope never hurt any one, never yet interfered with 
duty ; nay, always strengthens to the performance of 
duty, gives courage, and clears the judgment. 

George Macdonald. 

15 



226 



AUGUST 9. 



O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me ; give 
Thy strength unto Thy servant. — Ps. lxxxvi, 16. 

Oh ! make me patient, Lord, 

Patient in daily cares ; 
Keep me from thoughtless words 

That slip out unawares. 

And help me, Lord, I pray, 

Still nearer Thee to live ; 
And as I journey on 

More of Thy presence give. 

Anonymous. 

Patience endues her scholars with content of mind, 
and evenness of temper, preventing all repining, 
grumbling, and impatient desires, and inordinate 
affections ; disappointments here are no crosses, and 
all anxious thoughts are disarmed of their sting ; in 
her habitations dwell quietness, submission, and long- 
suffering, all fierce, turbulent inclinations are hereby 
allayed. The eyes of the patient fixedly wait the in- 
ward power of God's providence, and they are thereby 
mightily enabled toward their salvation and preserva- 
tion. 

Thomas Tryon. 



August io. 



227 



O Thou that nearest prayer, unto Thee shall all 
flesh come. — Ps. lxv, 2. 

Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, 
Uttered or unexpressed. 

Montgomery. 

Prayer moves the hand that moves the world. 

John Aikman Wallace. 

That prayer which does not succeed in mod- 
erating our wish, in changing the passionate desire 
into still submission, the anxious, tumultuous expecta- 
tion into silent surrender, is no true prayer, and proves 
that we have not the spirit of true prayer. That life 
is most holy in which there is least of petition and de- 
sire, and most of waiting upon God ; that in which 
petition most often passes into thanksgiving. Pray 
till prayer makes you forget your own wish, and leave 
it or merge it into God's will. The Divine wisdom 
has given us prayer, not as a means whereby to ob- 
tain the good things of earth,. but as a means whereby 
we learn to do without them ; not as a means whereby 
we escape evil, but as a means whereby we become 
strong to meet it. 

F. W. Robertson. 



228 



AUGUST II. 



Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, what- 
soever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, 
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are 
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; if there 
be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on 
these things. — Phi. iv, 8. 

The thoughts that in our hearts keep place, 

Lord make a holy, heavenly throng, 
And steep in innocence and grace 

The issue of each guarded tongue. 

T. H. Gill. 

They are never alone that are accompanied with 
noble thoughts. 

Sir Philip Sidney. 

Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be 
the character of thy mind ; for the soul is dyed by the 
thoughts. Dye it then with a continuous series of 
such thoughts as these : for instance, that where a 
man can live, there he can also live well. But he 
must live in a palace : well, then, he can also live 
well in a palace. 

Marcus Antoninus. 

The dominion of any sinful habit will fearfully 
estrange us from His presence. A single consenting 
act of inward disobedience in thought or will is 
enough to let fall a cloud between Him and us, and 
to leave our hearts cheerless and dark. 

H. E. Manning. 



August 12. 



229 



Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, 
fear not. — Isa. xxxv, 4. 

We can stand the smart of yesterday, 
To-day's worse ill we can drive away. 
What was and is brings no dismay, 

For past and present sorrow ; 
But the burdens that make us groan and sweat, 
The troubles that make us fume and fret, 
Are the things that haven't happened yet— 

The pins that we'll find to-morrow. 

R. J. Burdette, in Ladies' Home Journal. 

The crosses which we make for ourselves by a 
restless anxiety as to the future, are not crosses which 
come from God. We show want of faith in Him by 
our false wisdom, wishing to forestall His arrange- 
ments, and struggling to supplement His Providence 
by our own providence. The future is not yet ours ; 
perhaps it never will be. If it comes, it may come 
wholly different from what we have foreseen. Let us 
shut our eyes, then, to that which God hides from us, 
and keeps in reserve in the treasures of His deep 
counsels. Let us worship without seeing ; let us be 
silent ; let us abide in peace. 

F NELOX. 



230 



August 13. 



He shall not be afraid of evil tidings : his heart is 
fixed, trusting in the Lord. — Ps. cxii, 7. 

There is no chance, no destiny, no fate 
Can circumvent or hinder or control 
The firm resolve of a determined soul. 

Gifts count for nothing ; will alone is great ; 

All things give way before it, soon or late. 

Each well-born soul must win what it deserves. 

Let fools prate of luck. The fortunate 
Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves, 
Whose slightest action or inaction serves 

The one great aim. 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

If the heart is fixed, everything is fixed; the whole 
life is braced and firm. When you say your heart is 
fixed, do you mean that you have chosen your guid- 
ing star, and that you mean to follow it to your life's 
end. Any man who has really settled his leading 
purpose, as he himself is willing it should stay settled 
forever, has said to himself in substance : " I take the 
highest ideal I can discover as the objective point to 
strive for, to move toward, to grow up to. If it is my 
Maker's will that I should seek for perfection, it shall 
be my will also, and everything shall bend to that. I 
will have no other business. If the star keeps rising, 
I will keep rising. If God lets me live eternally, I 
will eternally live in His order." 

Charles P. Ennies. 



AUGUST 14. 



Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we 
may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble 
by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted 
of God. — II Cor. i, 4. 

Comfort one another, 

For the way is growing dreary, 

The feet are often weary, 
And the heart is very sad. 

There is heavy burden-bearing, 

Where it seems that none are caring, 
And we half forget that ever we were glad. 

Comfort one another, 
With the hand-clasp close and tender, 
With the sweetness love can render, 

And looks of friendly eyes. 

Do not wait with grace unspoken, 
While life's daily bread is broken ; 

Gentle speech is oft like manna from the skies. 

Give me the comforts of God, and I can well bear 
the taunts of men. Let me lay my head on the bosom 
of Jesus, and I fear not the distraction of care and 
trouble. If my God gives me the light of His smile 
and grants His benediction, it is enough. 

C. H. Spurgeon. 

God dries up the channels, that you may be haply 
compelled to plunge into an infinite ocean of happi- 
ness. 

Robert Hall. 



2 3 2 



AUGUST 15. 



Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do 
justice : for my salvation is near to come, and my 
righteousness to be revealed. — Isa. lvi. 1. 

But the path of the just is as the shining light, that 
shineth more and more unto the perfect dav. — Prov. 
iv, 18. 

Whoever fights, whoever falls. 
Justice conquers evermore, 
Justice after as before ; 
And he who battles on her side, 
God, though he were ten times slain, 
Crowns him victor glorified, 
Victor over death and pain. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

Men complain that sentence against an evil work 
is not presently executed. They see but half; it is 
executed, and with speed ; even' departure from 
justice is attended with loss to the unjust man, but 
the loss is not reported to the public. Whoso escapes 
a duty avoids a gain. Fidelity to your faculties, trust 
in their convictions, that is justice to yourself; a life 
in obedience thereto, that is justice toward men. 
You and I in our daily life, in house, or field, or shop, 
obscurely faithful, may prepare the way for the 
republic of righteousness, the democracy of justice 
that is to come. Our own morality shall bless us 
here ; not in our outward life alone, but in the inward 
and majestic life of conscience. All the justice we 
mature shall bless us here, yea, and hereafter ; but 
at our death we leave it added to the common store 
of humankind. Even the crumbs that fall from our 
table may save a brother's life. You and I may help 
deepen the channel of human morality in which 
God's justice runs, and the wrecks of evil, which now 
check the stream, be borne off the sooner by the 
strong, all-conquering tide of right, the river of God 
that is full of blessing. 

Theodore Parker. 



AUGUST 16. 



233 



To have always a conscience void of offense 
toward God and toward men. — Acts xxiv, 16. 

* # 
A peace above all other dignities — 
A still and quiet conscience. 

Shakespeare. 



Trust me, no tortures which the poets feign 
Can match the fierce, the unutterable pain 
He feels, who, night and day devoid of rest, 
Carries his own accuser in his breast. 

Gifford y s Juvenal. 



Conscience is harder than our enemies, 
Knows more, accuses with more nicety. 

George Eliot. 



Trust that man in nothing who has not a con- 
science in everything. 

Sterne. 



Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark 
of celestial fire called conscience. 

George Washington. 



A good conscience, like the eye, is troubled by any 
speck of defilement and wrong that falls into it. 

Dr. H. Bush nell, 



234 



AUGUST 17. 



See then that ye walk circumspectly. — Eph. v, 15. 

Miss not the occasion, by the forelock take 
That subtle power, the never-halting time, 

Lest a mere putting off should make 
Mischance almost as heavy as a crime. 

Wordsworth. 

By putting off things beyond their proper times, 
one duty treads upon the heels of another, and all 
duties are felt as irksome obligations — a yoke be- 
neath which we fret and lose our peace. In most 
cases the consequence of this is, that we have no 
time to do the work as it ought to be done. It is 
therefore done precipitately, with eagerness, with a 
greater desire simply to get it done than to do it well, 
and with very little thought of God throughout. 

F. W. Faber. 

How mankind defers from day to day the best it 
can do, and the most beautiful things it can enjoy, 
without thinking that every day may be the last one, 
and that lost time is lost eternity. 

Max Muller. 



August 18. 



235 



Let not mercy and truth forsake thee : bind them 
about thy neck ; write them upon the table of thy 
heart : so shalt thou find favor and good understand- 
ing in the sight of God and man. — Prov. iii, 3, 4. 

Seize upon truth, wherever found, 
On Christian or on heathen ground ; 
Among your friends, among your foes ; 
The plant's divine, where'er it grows. 

Fear not, truth will eventually win. You cannot 
discourage it, hinder it, appal, or destroy it. It knows 
no favorites or prejudices, has no ulterior motives for 
action or favors to seek. It cares not, questions not, 
hesitates not. It is omnipotent, omniscient, and om- 
nipresent. Stand in its way, and it will crush you. 
Walk with it, and it will bring you growth, peace, and 
joy forever. 

W. P. Stoddard. 

If your principles are false, no apology can make 
them right ; if founded in truth, no censure can make 
them wrong. 

To love truth for truth's sake is the principal part 
of human perfection in this world, and the seed-plot 
of all other virtues. 

Locke. 



236 August 19. 



A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born 
for adversity. — Prov. xvii, 17. 

On the choice of friends 

Our good or evil name depends. 

Gay. 

True happiness 
Consists not in the multitude of friends, 
But in the worth and choice. Nor would I have 
Virtue a popular regard pursue : 
Let them be good that love me, though but few. 

Ben Jonson. 

To act the part of a true friend requires more con- 
scientious feeling than to fill with credit and com- 
placency any other station or capacity in social life. 

Mrs. Ellis. 

A good man is the best friend, and, therefore, 
soonest chosen, longer to be retained ; and, indeed, 
never to be parted with, unless he cease to be that 
for which he has been chosen. 

Jeremy Taylor. 

There is no man so friendless but what he can find 
a friend sincere enough to tell him disagreeable 
truths. 

Bulwer-Lytton. 

True friendship is like sound health, the value of it 
is seldom known until it is lost. 

C. C. COLTON. 

There are plenty of acquaintances in the world, but 
very few real friends. 

Chinese Moral Maxims. 

A favorite has no friend. 

Gray. 



August 20. 



237 



Behold we count them happy which endure.— 
James v, ii. 

God never would send you the darkness 

If He felt you could bear the light ; 
But you would not cling to His guiding hand 

If the way were always bright ; 
And you would not care to walk by faith, 

Could you always walk by sight. 

So He sends you in blinding darkness, 

And the furnace of seven-fold heat ; 
'Tis the only way, believe me, 

To keep you close to His feet, 
For 'tis always so easy to wander 

When our lives are glad and sweet. 

The consciousness of trials patiently borne en- 
riches the soul. He who has gone unscathed through 
the fiery furnace has no longer any terror of it, even 
though it be heated seven-fold. He who has been 
through battles fears not the flying bullet or the 
screaming shell. An abiding trust in the goodness 
and love of God is the supreme panacea for all our 
woes. When in harmony with Him what can we 
choose other than what He chooses, and then no 
matter what happens to us we can hear Him say, as 
our friend so happily quotes, " I, even I, am He that 
comforteth you." 

The Living Church. 



2 3 8 



August 21. 



Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men 
should do to you, do ye even so to them. — Matt, vii, 
12. 

A heart-felt smile, a gentle tone, 
A thoughtful word, a tender touch, 

A passing act of kindness done — 
'Tis all, but it is much. 

These are not things to win applause, 

No earthly fame awaiteth such ; 
But surely by the heavenly laws 

They are accounted much. 

Anonymous. 

We may, if we choose, make the worst of one an- 
other. Every one has his weak points ; every one 
has his faults ; we may make the worst of these ; we 
may fix our attention constantly upon these. But we 
may also make the best of one another. We may 
forgive, even as we hope to be forgiven. We may 
put ourselves in the place of others, and ask what we 
should wish to be done to us, and thought of us, were 
we in their place. By loving whatever is lovable in 
those around us, love will flow back from them to us, 
and life will become a pleasure instead of a pain ; 
and earth will become like heaven ; and we shall be- 
come not unworthy followers of Him whose name is 
Love. 

A. P. Stanley. 



AUGUST 22. 



2 39 



If any man will come after me, let him deny him- 
self, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. — Luke 
ix, 23. 



There are small crosses I may take, 

Small burdens I may bear, 
Small acts of faith, and deeds of love, 

Small sorrows I may share ; 
And little bits of work for Thee, 

I may do everywhere. 

So I ask Thee, Lord, to give me grace 

My little place to fill, 
That I may ever walk with Thee, 

And ever do Thy will ; 
And in each duty great or small, 

I may be faithful still. 

Anonymous, 



To take up the Cross of Christ is no great action 
done once for all ; it consists in the continual practice 
of small duties which are distasteful to us. 

J. H. Newman. 



240 



AUGUST 23. 



Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with 
good. — Rom. xii, 21. 

Art thou wear}-, art thou languid, 
Art thou sore distress'd? 
" Come to me," saith One, " and coming 
Be at rest." 

Stephen of St. Sabbas. 

If we wish to overcome evil, we must overcome it 
by good. There are doubtless many ways of over- 
coming the evil in our own hearts, but the simplest, 
easiest, most universal, is to overcome it by active 
occupation in some good word or work. The best 
antidote against evil of all kinds, against the evil 
thoughts which haunt the soul, against the needless 
perplexities which distract the conscience, is to keep 
hold of the good we have. Impure thoughts will not 
stand against pure w r ords and prayers and deeds. 
Little doubts will not avail against great certainties. 
Fix your affections on things above, and then you 
will be less and less troubled by the cares, the 
temptations, the troubles of things on earth. 

A. P. Stanley. 



August 24. 



241 



The Lord bless thee and keep thee : the Lord 
make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto 
thee : the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, 
and give thee peace. — Num. vi, 24, 25, 26. 

The three-fold blessing Israel heard three thousand years ago, 
God grant it may on thee to-day in power and fullness flow ! 
For, faithful and unchangeable, each word of God is sure ; 
Though heaven and earth shall pass away, His promise shall 
endure. 

F. R. Havepgal. 

One talent well used gives its possessor greater 
satisfaction than five talents buried beneath the rust 
of idleness and sloth. 

G or ham Moioitaineer. 

' Unless we do improve our talents in the wisest and 
best manner, whether we are endowed with ten or five 
or one, it matters not, we shall never hear our blessed 
Lord utter that most joyful word of welcome, "Well 
done, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been 
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over 
many things." Faithfulness in the performance of 
present duties, and that alone, will prepare us for 
whatever higher and more precious blessings God 
may have in store for His children. 

Dr. T. L. Andrews. 

It is not for the things which God has given me 
that I should be loved or hated, but for my own use 
or abuse of them. 

Madame de Preyere* 

16 



242 



August 25. 



Whereas ye know not what shall be on the mor- 
row. For what is your life ? It is even a vapor, that 
appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 
— James iv, 14. 

O do not stand with idle hands, 

And wait for something grand, 
While precious moments slip away 

Like grains of shining sand ! 
But do the duty nearest you, 

And do it faithfully, 
For stepping-stones to greater things 

These little deeds shall be. 

Youth* s Companion. 

Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve 
it in the most profitable way I possibly can. 

That I will live so as I shall wish I had done when 
I came to die. 

Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards. 

To learn never to waste our time is perhaps one of 
the most difficult virtues to acquire. A well-spent 
day is a source of pleasure. To be constantly em- 
ployed, and never asking, "What shall I do?" is the 
secret of much goodness and happiness. Begin then 
with promptitude, act decisively, persevere, if inter- 
rupted be amiable, and return to the work unruffled 
and finish it carefully. These will be signs of a vir- 
tuous soul. 

Gold Dust. 



August 26. 



243 



Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace : 
thereby good shall come unto thee. — Job xxii, 21. 

Wherefore set your affections upon my words ; 
desire them, and ye shall be instructed. — Wis. vi, 11. 

No heart but has to bear its pain, 
Yet the trouble goes at length ; 

The fading hope is bright again 
When God gives strength. 

And let the tumult and the rush 
And the doubts and questions cease ; 

Give God thy care, and know the hush 
Of perfect peace. 

Read and read again, and do not despair of help 
to understand something of the will and mind of God, 
though you think they are fast locked up from you. 
Neither trouble your head though you have not com- 
mentaries and expositions ; pray and read, and read 
and pray ; for a little from God is better than a great 
deal from men ; also what is from men is uncertain, 
and is often lost and tumbled over and over by men ; 
but what is from God is fixed as a nail in a sure 
place. There is nothing that so abides with us as 
wmat we receive from God ; and the reason why 
Christians at this day are at such a loss as to some 
things, is because they are content with what comes 
from men's mouths, without searching and kneeling 
before God to know of Him the truth of things. 
Things that we receive at God's hand come to us as 
things from the minting-house, though old in them- 
selves, yet new to us. Old truths are always new to 
us, if they come to us with the smell of heaven upon 
them. John Bunyan. 



August 27. 



Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in 
conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. — 
I Tim. iv, 12. 



For no one doth know 

What he can bestow ; 
What light, strength, and beauty may after him go : 

Thus onward we move, 

And save God above ; 
None guesseth how wondrous the journey may prove. 



One example is worth a thousand arguments. 

Gladstone. 



So, then, Elijah's life had been no failure, after all 
Seven thousand at least in Israel had been braced 
and 'encouraged by his example, and silently blessed 
him, perhaps, for the courage which they felt. In 
God's world, for those who are in earnest, there is 
no failure. Xo work truly done, no word earnestly 
spoken, no sacrifice freely made, was ever made in 
vain. 

F. W. Robertson. 



August 28, 



24s 



He that walketh with wise men shall be wise : but 
a companion of fools shall be destroyed. — Prov. 
xiii, 20. 

I am a part of all that I have met. 

Tennyson. 

No life 

Can be pure in its purpose and strong in its strife, 
And all life not be purer and stronger thereby. 

Owen Meredith, 

Our Lord Himself, in one of His earnest talks, 
bade His followers beware of certain men whose in- 
fluence was harmful and only harmful and all the 
more harmful because it was secret and subtle and 
unseen. Beware, He said, of the leaven of the Phar- 
isees. If the influence of men works secretly as the 
hidden leaven works in the meal, how careful we 
should be both of the influence we exert and of the 
influence to which we submit ourselves. It is not a 
small matter, this choice of companionships. Young 
men have been harmed for life by one hour in the 
company of bad, wicked men, and on the other hand 
young men have been blessed all their days by half a 
dozen words spoken wisely and tenderly in the proper 
time. Better walk the path of life alone on to the 
end than walk in the company of fools. Happy are 
those companionships that, formed in early years, 
grow rich in sacred influences as the years pass on. 
Walking with the wise and the devout and the true, 
life becomes a sacred education through all its years, 
a sweet and gracious preparation for the happier fel- 
lowships of heaven. Inter- Ocean. 

There is no sort of wrong deed of which a man 
can bear the punishment alone ; you can't isolate 
yourself and say that the evil which is in you shall 
not spread. Men's lives are as thoroughly blended 
with each other as the air they breathe ; evil spreads 
as necessarily as disease. Every sin causes suffering 
to others besides those who commit it. 

George Eliot. 



246 



August 29. 



Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord 
the king shall appoint. — II Sam. xv, 15. 

Lord, hearts are willing, but the flesh is weak, 

Thou knowest ; help us in Thy strength divine 
Ever to watch, to pray, to hear Thee speak, 
And to Thy loving hands ourselves resign, 
Now and alway. 

Margaret E. Sangster. 

A sacred burden is the life ye bear ; 
Look on it, lift it, bear it solemnly, 
Stand up, and walk beneath it steadfastly, 
Fail not for sorrow, falter not for sin, 
But onward, upward, till the goal )^e win. 

Frances A. Kemble. 

I fear nothing in the universe but that I shall not 
know all my duty, or, knowing it, shall fail to do it. 

The heights of Christian perfection can only be 
reached by faithfully each moment following the Guide 
whc> is to lead you there, and He reveals your way to 
you one step at a time, in the little things of your daily 
live3, asking only on your part that you yield your- 
selves up to His guidance. If then, in anything you 
feel doubtful or troubled, be sure it is the voice of 
your Lord, and surrender it at once to His bidding, 
rejoicing with a great joy that He has begun thus to 
lead and guide you. 

H. W. S. 

We need only obey. There is a guidance for each 
of us, and by lowly listening we shall hear the right 
word. 

R. W. Emerson. 



AUGUST 30. 



247 



As thy days, so shall thy strength be. — Deut. 
xxxiii, 25. 

My grace is sufficient for thee. — II Cor. xii, 9. 

Ah ! if we knew it all we should surely understand 
That the balance of sorrow and joy is held with an even 
hand. 

That the scale of success or loss shall never overflow, 
And that compensation is twined with the lot of high and 
low. 

$ V $ * - * $ $ 

Then hush ! oh, hush ! for the Father knowest what thou know- 
est not. 

The need of the thorn and the shadow with the fairest lot ; 
Knows the wisest exemption from many an unseen snare, 
Knows what will keep the nearest, knowest what thou 
couldst not bear. 

Hush ! oh. hush ! for the Father portioneth as He will, 
To all His beloved children, and shall they not be still? 
Is not His will the wisest, is not His choice the best? 
And in perfect acquiescence is there not perfect rest? 

Hush ! oh, hush ! for the Father, whose ways are true and 
just, 

Knoweth and careth and loveth, and waits for thy perfect 
trust : 

The cup He is slowly filling shall be full to the brim, 
In infinite compensations forever found in Him. 

Hush ! oh. hush ! for the Father hath fullness of joy in store, 
Treasures of power and wisdom, and pleasures for ever more ; 
Blessing and honor and glory, endless, infinite bliss ; 
Child of His love and His choice, oh ; canst thou not wait for 
this ? 

F. R. Havergal. 

Strive to realize a state of inward happiness, inde- 
pendent of circumstances. 

J. P. Greaves. 

There is in man a higher than love of happiness : 
he can do without happiness, and instead thereof find 
blessedness ! 

T. Carlyle. 



248 



August 31. 



If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to 
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un- 
righteousness. — I John i, 9. 

Sin no more, lest a worst thing come unto thee. — 
John v, 14. 

Our sins, like our shadows, 
When our day's in its glory, scarce appear ; 
Towards our evening, how great and monstrous ! 

Suckling. 

Oh, what authority and show of truth can cunning sin 
Cover itself withal ! 

Shakespeare. 

Sin, which is the transgression of the law, cannot 
but be noticed by Him who gave that law ; and if 
noticed, must be punished either in this world or that 
which is to come. 

Bishop Horne. 

He that lives in sin and hopes for happiness here- 
after, is like him that soweth cockle and thinks to fill 
his barn with wheat and barley. 

John Bunyan. 

Sins go not alone, but follow one another as do 
the links of a chain. 

What a thing is sin ; what a devil and master of 
devils is it, that it should, where it takes hold, so hang 
that nothing can unclutch its hold but the mere) 7 of 
God and the heart-blood of His dear Son. 

Ibid. 



September i. 



249 



Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with 
them that weep. — Rom. xii, 15. 

Better than grandeur, better than gold, 
Than rank or titles a hundred-fold, 
Is a healthy body, and a mind at ease, 
And simple pleasures that always please. 
A heart that can feel for a neighbor's woe, 
And share in his joy with a friendly glow, 
With sympathies large enough to infold 
All men as brothers, is better than gold. 

Alexander Smart. 

Ask Him to increase your powers of sympathy, to 
give you more quickness and depth of sympathy, in 
little things as well as great, Opportunities of doing 
a kindness are often lost from mere want of thought. 
Half-a-dozen lines of kindness may bring sunshine 
into the whole day of some sick person. Think of 
the pleasure you might give to some one who is 
much shut in, and who has fewer pleasures than you 
have, by sharing with her some little comfort or en- 
joyment that you have learnt to look upon as a neces- 
sary of life — the pleasant drive, the new book, flowers 
from the country, etc. Try to put yourself in another's 
place. Ask, " What should I like myself, if I were 
hard-worked, or sick, or lonely ?" Cultivate the habit 
of sympathy. 

G. II. Wilkinson. 



250 September 2. 



The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life ; and he 
that vvinneth souls is wise. — Prov. xi, 30. 

Who bids, who bids for the souls of men ? 

To-day is the harvest white, 
And many will reach life's turning-point, 

Ere cometh another night. 
Who bids for the souls of the noble youths? 

Of the maidens so sweet and fair? 
Of the aged ones f and of those in life's prime? 

And the children, their pride and care ? 

Gather the harvest in ! 
Ye know ye live not to yourselves, nor die , 
Then let not this bright hour of work go by ; 
To all who know, and do not, there is sin ; 

Gather the harvest in. 

S. J. Stone. 

If events change men, much more persons. No 
man can meet another on the street without making 
some mark upon him. We say we exchange words 
when we meet ; what we exchange is souls. And 
when intercourse is very close and very frequent, so 
complete is this exchange that recognizable bits of 
the one soul begin to show in the other's nature, and 
the second is conscious of a similar and growing debt 
to the first. ... It is the Law of Influence that we be- 
come like those whom we habitually admire. . . . 
Through all the range of literature, of history, and 
biography this law presides. Men are all mosaics of 
other men. Henry Drummoxd. 

Simply to be in this world, whatever you are, is to 
exert an influence — an influence compared with which 
mere language and persuasion are feeble. 

Horace Bushnell. 



September 3. 



Cast thy bread upon the waters : for thou shalt find 
it after many days. — Eccl. xi, i. 



Gold and silver, like the sands, 
Will keep slipping through our hands ; 
Jewels,, gleaming like a spark, 
Will be hidden in the dark ; 
Sun and moon and stars may pale, 
But these words will never fail : 
" Bread upon the waters cast 
Shall be gathered at the last." 

Baptist Weekly. 



The most delicate and the most sensible of all 
pleasures consists in promoting the pleasures of others. 

La Bruvere. 



Happiness is not perfected until it is shared. 

Jane Porter. 



Mankind is always happier for having been happy ; 
so that if you make them happy now, you make them 
happy twenty years hence by the memory of it. 

Sidney Smith. 



252 



September 4. 



Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in 
us, because He hath given us of His Spirit. — I John 
iv, 13. 

Alone with Thee, my God ! alone with Thee ! 
Thus wouldst Thou have it still, thus let it be; 
There is a secret chamber in each mind 

Which none can find 
But He who made it ; none beside can know 

Its joy or woe. 
Oft may I enter it, oppressed by care, 

And find Thee there ; 
So full of watchful love, Thou knowest the why 

Of even* sigh. 
Then all Thy righteous dealings shall I see 
Alone with Thee, my God ! alone with Thee ! 

LittelVs Living Age. 

Alone must every son of man meet his trial hour. 
The individuality of the soul necessitates that. Each 
man is a new soul in this world, untried, with a bound- 
less possible before him. No one can predict what he 
may become, prescribe his duties, or mark out his obli- 
gations. Each man's own nature has its own peculiar 
rules ; and he must take up his life-plan alone, and 
persevere in it in a perfect privacy, with which no 
stranger intermeddleth. Each mans temptations are 
made up of a host of peculiarities, internal and ex- 
ternal, which no other mind can measure. You are 
tried alone : alone you pass into the desert — alone you 
must bear and conquer in the agon)' — alone you must 
be sifted by the world. There are moments known 
only to a man's own self, when human advice is un- 
available, that the soul feels what it is to be alone. 
. . . The philosopher tells us that no atom in creation 
touches another atom. They only approach within a 
certain distance ; then the attraction ceases, and an 
invisible something repels : they only seem to touch. 
Xo soul touches another soul except at one or two 
points, and those chiefly external — a fearful and a 
lonely thought, but one of the truest of life. Death 
only realizes that which has been the fact all along. 
In the central deeps of our being we are alone. 

R \Y. Robertson. 



September 5. 



2 53 



While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing 
praises unto my God while I have any being. — Ps. 
cxlvi, 2. 

Seven whole days, not one in seven, 

I will praise Thee ; 
In my heart, though not in heaven, 

I can raise Thee. 

Small it is, in this poor sort, 

To enroll Thee ; 
E'en eternity is too short 

To extol Thee. 

George Herbert. 

Let not the blessings we receive daily from God 
make us not to value or not to praise Him because 
they be common. What would not a blind man give 
to see the pleasant rivers and meadows and flowers 
and fountains that we have met with ? 

Isaak Walton. 

The praise of the lips is acceptable to God only as 
it is the overflowing of the heart's abundance, The 
praise of the heart is the noble satisfaction and in- 
tense delight which we enjoy in the honor and exal- 
tation of Him we most dearly love. It is thinking 
highly of God, with devout pleasure and holy grati- 
tude. True praise, like love, is unselfish ; resting not 
in its own enjo}^ment, but seeking to bring others into 
its holy and heavenly moods, 

Joseph Cross. 



254 



September 6. 



Show me Thy ways, O Lord ; teach me Thy paths.-— 
Ps. xxv, 4. 

O Father, hear ! 
The way is dark, and I would fain discern 
What steps to take, into which path to turn ; 

O make it clear 

Christian hitelligencer. 

There is no authority short of God. Look up to 
Him, expect His teachings. And though clouds of 
uncertainty may come, never let them make you turn 
your eyes away in discouragement, or think that on 
the earth you can find that guidance which is not a 
thing of earth, but which must come to us from 
heaven. 

Phillips Brooks, 



It is not always easy to discern the will of God ; but 
if the fountain of our life is kept pure, the water of 
life must flow from it and our day's work contribute 
to the great stream of life that flows out from the City 
of God for the healing of the nations ; and in this 
stream all our own little trials get turned into gold. 

Harriet Monsell. 



September 7. 



25s 



Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, 
unmovable, always abounding in the work of the 
Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in 
vain in the Lord. — I Cor. xv, 58. 

Do what conscience says is right ; 

Do what reason says is best ; 
Do with all your mind and might ; 

Do your duty, and be blest. 

Duty is above all consequences, and often, at a 
crisis of difficulty, commands us to throw them over- 
board. ... It commands us to look neither to the 
right, nor to the left, but straight onward. Hence 
every signal act of Duty is altogether an act of Faith. 
It is performed in the assurance that God will take 
care of the consequences, and will so order the 
course of the world, that, whatever the immediate 
results may be, His word shall not return to Him 
empty. 

Axon. 

Do right, and God's recompense to you will be the 
power of doing more right. Give, and God's reward 
to you will be the spirit of giving more : a blessed 
spirit, for it is the Spirit of God Himself, w T hose Life is 
the blessedness of giving. Love and God will pay 
you with the capacity of more love ; for love is 
heaven — love is God within you. 

F. W. Robertson. 

Follow duty if you would know the Christ-like 
calm in the presence of wrong ; follow duty if you 
would change resentment into patience, resistance 
into forgiveness. Duty is the great mountain-road to 
God. Jenkin Lloyd Jones. 



September 8. 



The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom 
shall I fear ? The Lord is the strength of my life ; of 
whom shall I be afraid? — Ps. xxvii, i. 

Thou hidden Source of calm repose, 

Thou all-sufficient Love divine ; 
My Help and Refuge from my foes, 

Secure I am while Thou art mine : 
And lo ! from sin, and grief, and shame, 
I hide me, Father, in Thy name. 

C. Wesley. 

They ask me for secrets of salvation. For myself 
I know no secrets but this — to love God with all our 
hearts and our neighbor as ourselves. 

Francis de Sales. 

Salvation is a definite process. If a man refuse to 
submit himself to that process, clearly he cannot 
have the benefits of it. ll As many as received Him 
to them gave He power to become the sons of God." 
He does not avail himself of this power. It may be 
mere carelessness or apathy. Nevertheless the neg- 
lect is fatal. He cannot escape because he will not. 

Henry Drummond. 

The religion of Jesus Christ is altogether a prac- 
tical thing. Just consider how we are taught any- 
thing else that is practical. It is not by hearing or 
reading about making shoes that a man becomes a 
shoemaker, but by trying to make them. 

Augustus Hare. 



September 9. 



257 



Neither be ye of doubtful mind. — Luke xii, 29. 
For whatsoever is not of faith is sin. — Rom. xiv, 23. 

Doubt, a blank twilight of the heart which mars, 
All sweetest colors in its dimness same ; 

A soul-mist, through whose rifts familiar stars 
Beholding we misname. 

Jean Ingelow. 

Beware of doubt. Faith is the subtle chain 
That binds us to the Infinite. 

Mrs. E. Oakes Smith. 

Doubt is hell in the human soul. 

Countess de Gasparin. 

Suspicions amongst thoughts are like bats amongst 
birds, they ever fly by twilight. 

Lord Bacon. 

When there is a great deal of smoke and no clear 
flame, it argues much moisture in the matter, yet it 
witnesseth certainly that there is a fire there ; and 
therefore dubious questioning is a much better evi- 
dence than that senseless deaclness which most take 
for believing. Men that know nothing in sciences 
have no doubts. He never truly believed who was 
not made first sensible and convinced of unbelief. 

Leighton {Coleridge, Aids), 

The end of doubt is the beginning of repose. 

Petrarch. 

Charitable and candid thoughts of men are the 
necessary introduction to all good-will and kindness : 
they form, if we may speak so, the only climate in 
which love can grow up and flourish. A suspicious 
temper checks in the bud every kind affection. 

John Blair. 

17 



253 



September io. 



Changed into the same image from glory to glory. — ■ 
II Cor. hi, 18. 



As one lamp lights another, nor grows less, 
So nobleness enkindleth nobleness. 

James Russell Lowell. 



It is significant that the men and women who have 
influenced their fellows most deeply have spoken 
directly and unhesitatingly out of their own best 
natures. They have not waited upon common opinion 
nor repeated the current phrases ; they have not 
weighed their words against their prospects of ad- 
vancement, nor fitted their teaching to the prevalent 
mood. They have said what they believed, frankly 
and courageously. They have not calculated the 
chances of acceptance ; they have spoken what 
seemed true to them, and left the result with God. 
Atmospheric influences are very powerful and per- 
vasive, and only strong natures overcome them ; con- 
temporary currents are often swift and wide, and only 
resolute souls breast and baffle them. But no one can 
really speak to men the words that uplift and invigor- 
ate, who does not first develop this inward force, this 
victorious faith in the truth as he sees it. The more 
sensitive the man is, the more force must he put forth 
to express what is original in him ; but the original 
words are the only ones that count ; all other words 
are echoes. . . . We hide our best selves as if we 
were ashamed of them ; but when we take courage 
and speak of our deepest convictions, our highest 
aspirations, we suddenly find that we have entered 
into sacred companionship with our fellows, and that 
the breath of our fervor has stirred the same fire of 
nobleness in them that burns in us. Never give less 
than your best, and remember that your best is always 
yourself. 



September ii. 



259 



But He knoweth the way that I take : when He 
hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. — Job xxiii, 
10. 

What matter tho' shadowed my pathway? 

Tho' storm-clouds above me may break? 
My Father controlleth the tempest, 
" He knoweth the way that I take." 

" He knoweth !" Blest words of consoling ! 
What need to start back in alarm ? 
He'll guide and protect me from danger, 
Will shield me from all that can harm. 

" He knoweth !" Xo need to be fearful, 
To peer thro' the darkness and gloom 
That shadows the face of the Future, 
From dawning of life to the tomb. 

Take courage, my soul, and press forward ! 

The duties of life undertake ; 
As gold I shall be when He's tried me, 
" He knoweth the way that I take." 

Mar ah. 

Watch your way then, as a cautious travele r ; and 
don't be gazing at that mountain or river in the dis- 
tance, and saying, " How shall 1 ever get over them ?" 
but keep to the present little inch that is before you, 
and accomplish that in the little moment that belongs 
to it. The mountain and the river can only be passed 
in the same way ; and, when you come to them, you 
will come to the light and strength that belong to 
them. 

M. A. Kelty. 



260 



September 12. 



Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go for- 
ward. — Ex. xiv, 15. 

We should waste no moments in weak regret, 

If the day were but one ; 
If what we remember and what we forget 

Went out with the sun ; 
We should be from our clamorous selves set free 

To work or to pray, 
And to be what the Father would have us be, 

If we had but a day. 

Mary Lowe Dickinson. 

Let us have done with vain regrets and longings 
for the days that will never be ours again. Our work 
lies in front, not behind us ; and " forward " is our 
motto. Let us not sit with folded hands gazing upon 
the past as if it were the building ; it is but the founda- 
tion. Let us not waste heart and life thinking of what 
might have been, and forgetting the " may be " that 
lies before us. 

Jerome K. Jerome. 

For the errors of the wise the remedy is reparation, 
not regret ; regret consumes the heart, but the effort 
to repair an error causes it to throb with a noble 
pride. In Egypt, regret is numbered among the 
forty-two deadly sins. One of the principal com- 
mandments is, " Thou shalt not consume thine heart" 



September 13. 



261 



The Lord knoweth them that are His. — II Tim. ii, 
19. 

O Father ! help us to resign 

Our hearts, our strength, our wills to Thee ; 
Then even lowliest work of Thine 

Most noble, blest, and sweet will be. 

H. M. Kimball. 

Devotion is really nothing more nor less than a 
general inclination and readiness to do that which 
we know to be acceptable to God. It is that " free 
spirit," of which David spoke when he said, u I will 
run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou hast 
set my heart at liberty." People of ordinary goodness 
walk in God's way, but the devout run in it, and at 
length they almost fly therein. . . . To be truly de- 
vout, we must not only do God's will, but we must do 
it cheerfully. 

Francis de Sales. 

That piety which sanctifies us, and which is a true 
devotion to God, consists in doing all His will pre- 
cisely at the time, in the situation, and under the cir- 
cumstances in which He has placed us. Perfect de- 
votedness requires not only that we do the will of 
God, but that we do it with love. God would have 
us serve Him with delight ; it is our hearts that He 
asks of us. 

F£nelon. 



262 



September 14. 



But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand 
know what thy right hand doeth : that thine alms may 
be in secret : and thy Father which seeth in secret 
Himself shall reward thee openty. — Matt, vi, 3, 4. 

In alms, regard thy means and others' merit ; 

Think heaven a better bargain than to give 
Only thy single market-money for it. 

Join hands with God to make a man to live ; 
Give to all something : to a good poor man : 
Till thou change names, and be where he began. 

Man is God's image ; but a poor man is 
Christ's stamp to boot : both images regard. 

God reckons for him, counts the favor His. 
Write, So much given to God : thou shalt be heard. 

Let thine alms go before, and keep heaven's gate 

Open for thee ; or both may come too late. 

George Herbert. 

Give, looking for nothing again ; that is, without 
consideration of future advantages : give to children, 
to old men, to the unthankful, and the dying, and to 
those you shall never see again ; for else your alms 
or courtesy is not charity, but traffic and merchandise ; 
and be sure that you omit not to relieve the needs of 
your enemy and the injurious ; for so, possibly, you 
may win him to yourself; but do you intend the win- 
ning him to God. 

Jeremy Taylor. 

Let us proportion our alms to our ability, lest we 
provoke God to proportion His blessings to our alms. 

William Beveridge. 

If thou stand guilty of oppression, or wrongfully 
possest of another's right, see thou make restitution 
before thou givest an alms : if otherwise, what art thou 
but a thief, and makest God thy receiver ? 

Francis Quarles. 



September 15. 



263 



Even so ye, for as much as ye are zealous of 
spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying 
of the church. — I Cor. xiv, 12. 

So earnest with thy God ! can no new care, 
Xo sense of danger, interrupt thy prayer? 
The sacred wrestler, till a blessing given, 
Quits not his hold, but halting conquers heaven. 

Edmund Waller. 

Religious zeal should in every instance be the off- 
spring of personal piety. 

John Angell James. 

Zeal is the richest evidence of faith, and the clearest 
demonstration of the Spirit. Samuel Ward. 

Zeal without humility is like a ship without a rud- 
der, liable to be stranded at any moment. 

Owen Feltham. 

Zeal may be defined as the heat or fervor of the 
mind, prompting its vehemence of indignation against 
anything which it conceives to be evil — prompting its 
vehemence of desire toward anything which it im- 
agines to be good. In itself it has no moral character 
at all. It is the simple instinct of energetic nature, 
never wholly divested of a sort of rude nobility, and 
never destitute of influence upon the lives and char- 
acters of others. Morley Punshon. 

Zeal is one of the fair colors of grace. ... It stimu- 
lates to the performance of every duty, infuses life 
into every experience, fervor into all devotion, spirit 
into all work, and overcomes difficulty as fire over- 
comes every resisting object. 

Hugh Macmillan. 



264 



September 16. 



Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his 
help, whose hope is in the Lord his God. — Ps. 
cxlvi, 5. 

Hope is the cordial of the human heart. 

Robert Burns. 

A propensity to Hope and Joy is real riches ; one 
of Fear and Sorrow, real poverty. 

Hume. 

They whose hopes are set on God have a certain 
hope, a sufficient one, and one that fills all the future. 
All other expectations are fulfilled or disappointed as 
the case may be, but are left behind and outgrown. 
This one never palls, and is never accomplished, and 
yet is never disappointed. So, if we set our hopes 
on Him, we can face very quietly the darkness that is 
ahead of us, 

Alex. Maclaren. 

To help the young soul, add energy, inspire hope, 
and blow the coals into a useful flame ; to redeem de- 
feat by new thought, by firm action, that is not easy, 
that is the work of divine men. 

R. \V. Emerson. 



September 17. 



265 



Prove all things ; hold fast that which is good. 
Abstain from all appearance of evil. — I Thess. v, 

21, 22. 

Evil is wrought by want of thought 
As well as want of heart. 

Thomas Hood. 

Be on your guard, and strive, and pray, 
To drive all evil thoughts away. 

Evil thoughts are worse enemies than lions and 
tigers ; for we can keep out of the way of wild beasts, 
but bad thoughts win their way everywhere. The 
cup that is full, will hold no more ; keep your heads 
and hearts full of good thoughts, that bad thoughts 
may find no room to enter. 

Charles Northexd. 

It is trite but true, " Avoid the beginnings of evil." 
You cannot tell what one hateful thought may end in, 
therefore learn this great lesson — to guard well those 
avenues of the soul which seem to you the fairest and 
the nearest passages to God ; to be humble, watchful, 
and prayerful at these very points where you think 
your character is noblest and your heart most faithful. 
Hear always in your spirit Christ's words to Peter, 
" Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation." 

Stopford A. Brooke. 

The evil word — and oh, remember this — is a step, 
a long step, beyond the evil thought ; and it is a step 
toward the precipice's edge. 

Frederic W. Farrar. 

An evil-speaker differs from an evil-doer only in 
the want of opportunity. 

QUINTILLIAN. 



266 



September 18. 



Be content with your wages. — Luke iii, 14. 

We'll therefore relish with content, 
\Vhate"er kind Providence hath sent, 

Nor aim beyond our pow'r ; 
For if our stock be very small* 
'Tis prudent to enjoy it all. 

Nor lose the present hour. 

Nathaniel Coltox. 

Contentment furnishes constant joy. Much covet- 
ousness, constant grief. To the contented even pov- 
erty is joy. To the discontented even wealth is a 
vexation. 

Sum Paon Keen. 

If I be not outwardly rich, I will labor to be poor 
in craving desires ; but in the virtues of the mind 
(the best riches) I would not have a man exceed me. 
He that hath a mind contentedly good, enjoyeth in it 
boundless possessions. If I be pleased in myself, 
who can add to my happiness ? As no man lives so 
happy, but to some his life would be burdensome, so 
we shall find none so miserable, but we shall hear of 
another that would change calamities. 

Owen Felltham. 

To have little in peace is really to have much. 

Rotas. 



September 19. 



267 



Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry ; for anger 
resteth in the bosom of fools. — Eccl. vii, 9. 

Of all bad things by which mankind is curst, 
Their own bad tempers surely are the worst. 

Menander. 

There is not in nature 
A thing that makes man so deformed, so beastly, 
As doth intemperate anger. 

John Webster. 

If anger rises suddenly and violently, first restrain 
it with consideration, and then let it end in a hearty 
prayer for him that did the real or seeming injury. The 
former of the two stops its growth, and the latter quite 
kills it, and makes amends for its monstrous and in- 
voluntary birth. 

Jeremy Taylor. 

The angriest person in a controversy is the one 
most liable to be in the wrong. 

Tillotson. 

• 

There is a disease called " touchiness " — a disease 
which, in spite of its innocent name, is one of the 
gravest sources of restlessness in the world. Touchi- 
ness, when it becomes chronic, is a morbid condition 
of the inward disposition. It is self-love inflamed to the 
acute point. . . . The cure is to shift the yoke to some 
other place ; to let men and things touch us through 
some new and perhaps as yet unused part of our na- 
ture ; to become meek and lowly in heart, while the 
old nature is becoming numb from want of use. 

Henry Drummond. 



268 



September 20. 



To be spiritually minded is life and peace. — Rom. 
viii, 6. 



Stilled now be every anxious care ; 
See God's great goodness everywhere ; 
Leave all to Him in perfect rest : 
He will do all things for the best. 

From the German. 



Be still and cool in thy own mind and spirit from 
thy own thoughts, and then thou wilt feel the principle 
of God, to turn thy mind to the Lord God, from whom 
life comes ; whereby thou mayest receive His strength, 
and power to allay all blustering storms and tempests. 
That is it which works up into patience, into inno- 
cency, into soberness, into stillness, into stayedness, 
into quietness, up to God with His power. . . . There- 
fore be still awhile from thy own thoughts, searching, 
seeking, desires, and imaginations and be stayed in 
the principle of God in thee, that it may raise thy 
mind up to God, and stay it upon God ; and thou wilt 
find strength from Him, and find Him to be a God at 
hand, a present help in time of trouble and need. 

George Fox. 



September 21. 



269 



Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are 
called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long- 
suffering, forbearing one another in love.— Eph. iv, 
1, 2. 

Let us no more contend, nor blame 
Each other, blam'd enough elsewhere, but strive 
In offices of love, how we may lighten 
Each other's burden, in our share of woe. 

Milton. 

We cannot gather too much of the Christian spirit— 
the spirit of forbearance and peace and sacrifice ; the 
spirit of brotherhood and charity ; the spirit of purity 
and devotion to Him through whom comes all that 
renders life noble and true. 

Horatio N. Powers. 

Forbearance is even more than forgiveness, it is 
excusing, putting always the best construction upon 
everything ; above all, never showing that some pro- 
ceeding has wounded us. . . . For a wounded heart, 
no balm is so efficacious as forbearance. To forbear 
is to forget every night the little vexations of the past 
day; to say every morning: "To-day I shall be brave 
and calmer than yesterday." Forbearance sometimes 
leads us to detect in ourselves a little want of good 
nature, condescension, and charity. To forbear, is not 
only freely to forgive, but to meet half-way, with ex- 
tended hand, those who timidly ask for pardon. 

Gold Dust. 



270 



September 22. 



And He said, My presence shall go with thee, and 
I will give thee rest. — Exodus xxxiii, 14. 

Sweet is the pleasure itself cannot spoil ! 
Is not true leisure one with true toil ? 

Thou that wouldst taste it, still do thy best ; 
Use it, not waste it — else 'tis no rest. 

Wouldst behold beauty near thee ? all around thee? 
Only hath duty such a sight found. 

Rest is not quitting the busy career ; 
Rest is the fitting of self to its sphere. 

'Tis the brook's motion, clear without strife, 
Fleeing to ocean after its life. 

Deeper devotion nowhere hath knelt ; 
Fuller emotion heart never felt. 

'Tis loving and serving the highest and best ; 
'Tis onward unswerving — and that is true rest. 

John S. Dwight. 

How shall we rest in God? By giving ourselves 
wholly to Him. If you give yourself by halves, you 
cannot find full rest ; there will ever be a lurking dis- 
quiet in that half which is withheld. . . . The heart 
once fairly given to God, with a clear conscience, a 
fitting rule of life, and a steadfast purpose of obedi- 
ence, you will find a wonderful sense of rest coming 
over you. 

J. N. Grou. 



September 23. 



271 



My little children, these things write I unto you, 
that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an ad- 
vocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 
And He is the propitiation for our sins : and not for 
ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. — 
I John ii, i, 2. 

Sin, not till it is left will duly sinful seem ; 

A man must waken first ere he can tell his dream. 

Archbishop Trench. 

Stand like a knight in armor 

When sin allureth thee ; 
One error makes life less fruitful 

And glorious than it should be. 
For the knowledge of sin is deadly, 

And leaves in the soul a stain ; 
A bird with a broken pinion 

Never soars as high again. 

The worst effect of sin is within, and is manifest 
not in poverty and pain and bodily defacement, 
but in the discrowned faculties, the unworthy love, the 
low ideal, the brutalized and enslaved spirit. 

Stephen Chapin. 

Life is a chain of golden links, one end of which 
reaches to Heaven. When we sin, a link is broken, 
and we are separated from Heaven until we obtain 
forgiveness from God, when the broken link is re- 
placed by one of iron, and the chain is once more 
made whole. The iron chain, though as strong as the 
golden one, is not as beautiful. Let us keep the iron 
links out of our chains, and make our lives as beauti- 
ful as possible ; but always remember that iron links 
are better than broken ones. Christ's chain is the 
only one never broken, because He never sinned. 
The less we sin the more our chains will resemble 
Christ's, and the more beautiful they will be. 

The Silver Cross. 



272 



September 24. 



We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmi- 
ties of the weak, and not to please ourselves. — Rom. 
xv, 1. 

Seldom can the heart be lonely, 

If it seek a lonelier still ; 
Self-forgetting, seeking only 

Emptier cups of love to fill. 

F. R. Havergal. 

A friend must need sympathy as well as be capable 
of giving it, else we never have the pleasure of giving, 
which is the golden side of the shield of gifts. 

A. S. Hardy. 

We are here to educate our own hearts by deeds 
of love, and to be the instruments of blessing to our 
brother men. There are two ways in which this is to be 
done— by guarding them from danger, and by sooth- 
ing them in their rough path by kindly sympathies ; 
the two things which the apostles were asked to do for 
Christ. And it is an encouraging thought that he who 
cannot do the one has at least the other in his power. 
If he cannot protect he can sympathize. Let the 
weakest, the humblest, remember that in his daily 
course he can shed around him almost a heaven. 
Kindly words, sympathizing attentions, watchfulness 
against wounding men's sensitiveness — these cost 
very little, but they are priceless in their value. 

F. W. Robertson. 



September 25. 



273 



Watch therefore : for ye know not what hour your 
Lord doth come. — Matt, xxiv, 42, 



I know not the hour of His coming, 

I know not the day of the year, 
But I know that He bids me be ready 

For the step that I sometime shall hear. 
And whether on earth or in Heaven, 

Down here, or 'mid scenes of the blest, 
I am sure His love will surround me, 

And with Him I will leave all the rest. 



I know not what duties are waiting 

The hands that are willing and true, 
And I ask but the strength to be faithful 

And do well what He gives me to do. 
And if He should bid me stand idle, 

Just waiting, in weakness and pain, 
I have only to trust and be faithful, 

Sometime He'll make it all plain. 



When a man dies, they who survive him ask what 
property he has left behind. The angel who bends 
over the dying man asks what good deeds he has sent 
before him. 

The Koran, 



Watchfulness is the wise exercise of a gracious 
soul who is sensible of his own weakness, loves his 
Saviour, and fears to grieve His Spirit. 

Karl H. Bogatzky. 

That man who is the most watchful is the least 
sinful. 

William Secker. 

18 



274 



September 26. 



I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my 
tongue. — Ps. xxxix, i. 

" If you your lips 

Would keep from slips, 
Five things observe with care : 

Of whom you speak, 

To whom you speak, 
And how and when and where. 

" If you your ears 

Would save from jeers, 
These things keep meekly hid : 

Myself and I, 

And mine and my, 
And how ' I ' do or did." 

To rule one's self is in reality the greatest triumph. 

Sir John Lubbock. 

The peculiarity of ill-temper is that it is the vice 
of the virtuous. It is often the one blot on an other- 
wise noble character. You know men who are all 
but perfect, and women who would be entirely 
perfect, but for an easily ruffled, quick-tempered, or 
" touchy " disposition. This compatibility of ill-temper 
with high moral character is one of the strangest and 
saddest problems of ethics. 

Henry Drummond. 



September 27. 



275 



Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good, and 
doeth it not, to him it is sin. — James iv, 17. 

Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever, 
Do noble things, not dream them all da}* long ; 
And so make life, death, and the great forever 
One grand, eternal song. 

Charles Kixgsley. 

" Do not, because you can do so little for others, do 
nothing. Look around you, first in your own family, 
then amongst your friends and neighbors, and see 
whether there be not some one whose little burden 
you can lighten, whose little care you may lessen, 
whose little pleasures you can promote, whose little 
wants and wishes you can gratify. Giving up cheer- 
fully our own occupations to attend to others is one 
of the little kindnesses and self-denials ; doing little 
things that nobody likes to do, but which must be 
done by some one, is another." 

We do not come to our work by accident. We did 
not choose it for ourselves ; but under much which 
may wear the appearance of accident and self-choos- 
ing, came to it by God's leading and appointment. 
How will this consideration help us to appreciate 
justly the dignity of our work, though it were far 
humbler work, even in the eyes of men, than that of 
any of us here. 

Richard Chenevix Trench. 



276 



September 28. 



Now therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself, and bear 
with a good courage that which hath befallen thee. — 
II Esdras x, 15. 



Keep your troubles to yourself, 
Put them on an upper shelf; 
Far away as they may be 
Where no eye but God's can see. 

Other people have their share 

Of affliction, pain, and care ; 

Why should you, though sorely tried, 

Burden them with yours beside ? 

Give of treasures you possess, 
Loving care and tenderness, 
Cheerful smiles or sordid pelf, 
But keep your troubles to yourself. 

Josephine Pollard. 

" It is better to go at once to Jesus with our diffi- 
culties. We are worried and perplexed. Why not 
tell Jesus first instead of running with our griefs to 
our friends ? However willing they may be, they are 
often unable to help us. The Christian who has 
learned to lean on Jesus for counsel and comfort has 
learned the secret of the Lord— 4 the peace that 
passeth understanding.' " 

Keep silence about your little worries, and you will 
retain the blessing they bring. Avoid expressions of 
murmurings, of weariness, in sufferings : they wither 
the fruits of patience, and rob you of the benefits of 
your trials. 



September 29. 



277 



Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. — ■ 
Ps. xxxvii, 7. 

There is a day of sunny rest 
For every dark and troubled night ; 

And grief ma)* bide an evening guest, 
But joy shall come with early light. 

For God has marked each sorrowing day, 

And numbered every secret tear. 
And heaven's long age of bliss shall pay 

For all His children suffer here. 

W. C. Bryant. 

The mind never puts forth greater power over 
itself than when, in great trials, it yields up calmly its 
desires, affections, interests to God. There are sea- 
sons when to be still demands immeasurably higher 
strength than to act. Composure is often the highest 
result of power. Think you it demands no power to 
calm the stormy elements of passion, to moderate the 
vehemence of desire, to throw off the load of dejec- 
tion, to suppress even* repining thought, when the 
dearest hopes are withered, and to turn the wounded 
spirit from dangerous reveries and wasting grief, to 
the quiet discharge of ordinary duties ? Is there no 
power to put forth, when a man, stripped of his 
property, of the fruits of a life's labors, quells discon- 
tent and gloomy forebodings, and serenely and 
patiently returns to the tasks which Providence 
assigns ? 

Wm. E. Channing. 



278 



September 30. 



Be content with such things as ye have. — Heb. 
xiii, 5- 

THE SONG OF THE CRICKET. 

Yes, the world is big ; but I'll do my best, 

Since I happen to find myself in it ; 
And I'll sing my loudest out with the rest, 

Though I'm neither a lark nor a linnet, 
And strive toward the goal with as tireless zest, 

Though I know I may never win it. 

Nay, the world is so big that it needs us all 

To make audible music in it : 
God fits a melody e'en to the small ; 

We have nothing to do but begin it. 
So I'll chirp my merriest out with them all 

Though I'm neither a lark nor a linnet ! 

The Independent. 

" Nothing makes us happy but contentment. No 
difference how much we may have, if the mind is not 
at rest we cannot enjoy our possessions ; and no dif- 
ference how little of this world's goods we have, if 
we are contented we will be cheerful and happy. 
Real contentment is found alone in cheerfully taking 
things as they come, while doing the very best that 
we can, looking on the bright side, trusting God as 
we go singing on our way. Very truly Contentment is 
wealth.^ 



October i. 



279 



Let us do good unto all men. — Gal. vi, 10. 

I live for those that love me, 

For those that love me true, 
For the heaven that smiles above me, 

And waits my coming, too. 
For the cause that lacks assistance, 
For the wrongs that need resistance, 
For the future in the distance, 

For the good that I can do. 

Dr. Guthrie. 

Never did any soul do good but it became readier 
to do the same again, with more enjoyment. Never 
was love, or gratitude, or bounty practiced but with 
increasing joy, which made the practiser still more in 
love with the fair act. 

Shaftesbury. 

There is a sufficient recompense in the very con- 
sciousness of a noble deed. 

Cicero. 

We talk not great things, but we live them. We 
wear not wisdom in our garb, but we carry it in our 
minds. 

M. Minucius Felix. 

It is only great souls that know how much glory 
there is in being good. 

Sophocles. 

Power to do good is the true and lawful end of 
aspiring. For good thoughts, though God accepts 
them, yet toward men they are little better than good 
dreams, except they be put in act, and that cannot be 
without power and place as the vantage ground. 

Lord Bacon. 



280 October 2. 



But godliness with contentment is great gain. For 
we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain 
we can carry nothing out. And having food and 
raiment let us be therewith content. — I Tim. vi, 6, 
7, 8. 

The wind blows east, the wind blows west, 

The wind blows o'er the lea, 
But whether fair or foul it blow, 

'Tis always the best for me. 

Sometimes my ship at anchor rides, 

Sometimes it drifts to sea ; 
Becalmed or tempest-tossed, I find 

'Tis always the best for me. 

Perhaps it was not always so, 

But now I've learned to see 
That He who rules the wind and wave 

Knows what is the best for me. 

The fountain of content must spring up in the 
mind ; and she who has so little knowledge of human 
nature as to seek happiness by changing anything 
but her own disposition, will waste her life in fruitless 
efforts, and multiply the griefs which she proposes to 
remove. 

Ben Jonson. 

The point of aim for our vigilance to hold in view, 
is to dwell upon the brightest parts in every prospect, 
to call off the thoughts when running upon disagree- 
able objects, and strive to be pleased with the present 
circumstances surrounding us. 

Tucker. 



October 3. 



281 



Let, I pray Thee, Thy merciful kindness be for my 
comfort, according to Thy word unto Thy servant. — 
Ps. cxix, 76. 

Ye people, pour out your heart before Him : God 
is a refuge for us. — Ps. lxii, S. 

O friends ! if the greater burdens 

His love can make so light. 
Why should His wonderful goodness 

Our halting credence slight ? 
The little sharp vexations. 

And the briars that catch and fret. 
Shall we not take them to the Helper 

Who has never failed us yet ? 

Tell Him about the heartache. 

And tell Him the longings, too ; 
Tell Him the baffled purpose, 

When we scarce knew what to do. 
Then leaving all our weakness 

With the One divinely strong, 
Forget that we bore the burden, 

And carry away the song. 

Margaret E. Saxgster, 

Whatsoever it is that presses thee, go tell thy 
Father; put over the matter into His hand, and so 
thou shalt be freed from that dividing, perplexing 
care that the world is full of. When thou art either 
to do or suffer anything, when thou art about any 
purpose or business, go tell God of it, and acquaint 
Him with it; yea, burden Him with it, and thou hast 
done for matter of caring; no more care, but quiet, 
sweet diligence in thy duty, and dependence on Him 
for the carriage of thy matters. Roll thy cares, and 
thyself with them, as one burden, all on thy God. 

R. Leighton. 



282 



October 4. 



Walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being 
fruitful in every good work. — Col. i, 10. 

Greatly begin, though thou have time 
But for a line, be that sublime. 
Not failure, but low aim is crime. 

James Russell Lowell. 

Not what we win, 

But what we strive for doth the Master heed, 
If what we sought to be we have not been, 

Our striving may have helped another's need. 

Laura Brice. 

It is the care of the wise and good man to look to 
his manners and actions, and rather to how well he 
lives than to how long ; for whether he shall die sooner 
or later is not his business, but whether he shall die 
ill or well. 

Seneca. 

I am persuaded that what we have to aim at is not 
to accomplish any certain thing, to do a certain good ; 
but, in whatever position we are placed, to make it 
minister to heavenly mindedness, to spiritual con- 
formity. This is hearing the Shepherd's voice ; so may 
an abbreviated, maimed, and persecuted life still fulfill 
itself in bearing, in witnessing, which may be enough 
for their existence — the rest above. 

Robert Alfred Vaughan. 



October 5. 



283 



Leaving us an example, that ye should follow His 
steps. — I Peter ii, 21. 

Who went about doing good. — Acts x, 38. 

The best reformer is the man whose eyes 
Are quick to see all beauty and all worth, 
And by his own discreet, well-ordered life, 
Alone reproves the erring. 

There is nothing so powerful as example. We put 
others straight by walking straight ourselves. 

Madame Swetchine. 

The innocence of the intention abates nothing of 
the mischief of the example. 

Robert Hall. 

Do not amend by reasoning, but by example ; ap- 
proach feeling by feeling ; do not hope to excite love 
except by love. Be what you wish others to become. 
Let yourself and not your words preach. 

Henri Fr^d^ric Amiel. 

One man of pure and merciful and patient life shall 
at times better represent God to us than shall the 
Church, or what by us is so named ; even as on a 
drop of morning dew, lying calm and still, a more 
perfect image of the sun appears than on the vast sea, 
distracted by tumultuous winds. On the sea there is 
a wide diffused lustre, but on the dewdrop a serene, 
clear brightness. 

Lynch Cotton. 



2S4 



October 6. 



They helped every one his neighbor ; and every 
one said to his brother, Be of good courage. — Isa. 
xli, 6. 

By a word, if fitly spoken. 

Howe'er simple it may be, 
Oft a chain of sin is broken 

And the fettered slave is free. 



Every tear that's stayed from falling 

Is a diamond for your crown ; 
» O the ceaseless, ceaseless calling 

Of the dear ones trampled down ! 
But, for those whose strength is given 

To the shielding of the weak, 
Storms are stilled ; the clouds are riven ; 

Zephyrs chant and sunbeams speak. 

Every stream of kindness flowing 

Stays some feet that sinward roam ! 
Every lamp of mercy glowing 

Guides some straying brother home ; 
Cast your bread upon the waters, 

Moaning sea or dimpled burn — 
These are all His sons and daughters, 

Give ! nor question the return. 



Every human being whom we approach should be 
the better for us. 

William E. Channing. 

Each of us is bound to make the small circle in 
which he lives better and happier ; each of us is bound 
to see that out of that small circle the widest good 
may flow. 

Arthur Pexrhyn Stanley. 



October 7. 



285 



Be ye thankful. — Col. iii, 15. 

When all Thy mercies, O my God, 

My rising soul surveys, 
Transported with the view, I'm lost 

In wonder, love, and praise. 

Ten thousand thousand precious gifts 

My daily thanks employ ; 
Nor is the least a cheerful heart, 

That tastes those gifts with joy. 

Joseph Addison. 

If God gives us much, we are bound to be thankful 
and use it for Him. If He give us but little, we are 
bound to be content and cheerfully to enjoy Him 
in it. 

Matthew Henry. 

There is not a more pleasing exercise of the mind 
than gratitude. It is accompanied with such an in- 
ward satisfaction that the duty is sufficiently rewarded 
by the performance. It is not, like the practice of 
many other virtues, difficult and painful, but attended 
with so much pleasure that, were there no positive 
command which enjoined it, nor any recompense laid 
up for it hereafter, a generous mind would indulge 
in it for the gratification which accompanies it. 

Addison. 

Virtuous hearts are instinctively' grateful. 

Benardin St. Pierre. 

Let him who gives be silent, but let him who re- 
ceives speak. 

Michael Cervantes. 



286 



October 8. 



Blessed are the merciful \ for they shall obtain 
mercy. — Matt, v, 7. 

The quality of mercy is not strain'd ; 
It droppeth as the gentle dew from heaven 
Upon the place beneath ; it is twice blessed- 
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. 

Shakespeare. 

Mercy is compounded of a consciousness of de- 
merit, a sense of the evil of sin, and a desire for the 
good, the highest good ; this will complete the com- 
position of mercy, making it like God's. . . . Mercy 
expends not herself in sighs and tears ; sits not 
down with the sorrow and the sinfulness which she 
both beholds and feels ; she looks upward and she 
looks onward ; upward for help, onward to salvation, 
and is as ready to succor as she is prompt to sympa- 
thize. The world's pity stops with itself. If it gives 
a thought to distress, it is but in the luxury of a senti- 
ment. If it ever compassionates a sinner, it is as of 
course that it leaves him in his degradation. But the 
mercy which shall obtain mercy does not thus 
acquiesce in evil. Feeling what sin is, she knows 
also of a Saviour, and desires that the fellowship in 
disease may become a fellowship also in its cure. . . . 
It is of the essence of mercy to desire — to see the 
fallen rise, to help the diseased to recover, the sinner 
to be saved. 

C. J. Vaughan. 



October 9. 



287 



In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me. and 
strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. — Ps. 
cxxxviii, 3. 

Over our hearts and into our lives, 

Shadows will sometimes fall ; 
But the sunshine is never wholly dead, 
And heaven is shadowless overhead, 

And God is over all. 



We have only to be patient, to pray, and to do His 
will, according to our present light and strength, and 
the growth of the soul will go on. The plant grows 
in the mist and under clouds as truly as under sun- 
shine. So does the heavenly principle within. 

W. E. Chaining. 



Till a man has learned to be happy without the 
sunshine, and therein becomes capable of enjoying it 
perfectly, it is well that the sunshine and the shadow 
should be mingled, so as God only knows how to 
mingle them. To effect the blessedness for which 
God made him, man must become a fellow-worker 
with God. 



288 



October io. 



And in every work that he began in the service of 
the house of God, and in the law, and in the com- 
mandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his 
heart, and prospered. — II Chrox. xxxi, 21. 

To the giver shall be given : 

If thou wouldst walk in light 

Make other spirits bright ; 
Who seeking for himself ever entered Heaven? 

In blessing we are blest, 

In labor find our rest : 
If we bend not to the world's work heart and hand and brain. 
We have lived our life in vain. 

C. Seymour. 

God is a kind Father. He sets us all in the places 
where He wishes us to be employed; and that em- 
ployment is truly " our Father's " business. He chooses 
work for every creature which will be delightful to 
them, if they do it simply and humbly. He gives 
us always strength enough, and sense enough, for 
what He wants us to do ; if we either tire ourselves 
or puzzle ourselves, it is our own fault. And we may 
always be sure, whatever we are doing, that we 
cannot be pleasing Him, if we are not happy our- 
selves. 

John Ruskin. 



October ii. 



289 



Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's 
eye ; but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own 
eye ? — Luke vi, 41. 

Search thine own heart. What paineth thee? 
In others, in thyself may be ; 
All dust is frail, all flesh is weak ; 
Be thou the true man thou dost seek. 

John G. Whittier. 

Think how shameful it is to get all knowledge, and 
not to know ourselves ; and how miserable he is that 
encompasses all the world, and searches into all 
things, only neglects his own peace, or seeks it among 
the occasions of his trouble. Discharge thyself there- 
fore with all speed from thy passions of rashness and 
hasty thoughts. Learn thy duty ; do it : know God 
and thyself, and the world ; and when thou art once 
humble, prudent, thankful, and heavenly-minded, then 
thou wilt not be displeased at what God or men do ; 
nothing will trouble thee ; or if anything do, it will be 
this, that thou doest these things no better. But this 
is the happiness of such a man's condition, that those 
who mourn shall be comforted, and it is a pleasure to 
be so aggrieved. No joys here like those of an in- 
genuous sorrow. No cup of blessing so sweet as that 
which is mingled with tears of true contrition for our 
ingratitude. 

Simox Patrick. 

Self-knowledge is that acquaintance with ourselves 
which shows us what we are, and ought to do and be, 
in order to our living comfortably and usefully here, 
and being happy hereafter. The means of it is self- 
examination, the end of it self-government and self- 
fruition. It principally consists in a knowledge of 
our souls; for a man's soul is properly himself. . . . 
The more true knowledge a man hath the more sensi- 
ble is he of the wants which keep him humble. 

John Mason. 



19 



290 



October 12. 



Be patient toward all men. — I Thess. v, 14. 

If you have tried and have not won, 

Never stop for crying ; 
All that's great and good is done 

Just by patient trying. 

No rock so hard, but that a little wave 
May beat admission in a thousand years. 

Alfred Tennyson. 

Only have patience, to wait : perseverance, not to 
grow weary. It is the want of patience that often 
makes us exacting toward those we desire to help. 
More haste, less speed, is an old saying : the more we 
are exacting, the less likely are we to succeed. Men 
like to act freely, and to have the credit of their 
actions. It is because we have not learnt to persevere, 
that the work seems never to progress. 

Gold Dust 

It is in length of patience, endurance, and forbear- 
ance that so much of what is good in mankind and 
womankind is shown. 

Arthur Helps. 

The Christian race is not to be run by so many 
fits, but by a constant course and progress ; still get- 
ting ground upon our lusts, still approaching nearer 
to the kingdom of heaven. A Christian is not made 
in a fit, neither is the work of grace wrought in a 
passion ; but it is a settled, constant, and solemn 
frame of heart, that brings a man to Christ and salva- 
tion. 

Ezekiel Hopkins. 



October 13. 



291 



Thou hast given a banner to them that feared 
Thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. — 
Ps. lx, 4. 

Unfurl the Christian Standard, and follow through the strife 
The noble army who have won the martyr's crown of life ; 
Our ancestors could die for Truth, could brave the deadly 
glow ; 

And shall we let the Standard fall, and yield it to the foe? 

Frances R. Havergal. 

Yes, better 'tis to die 
Than from the strife to fly- 
Be thou a hero on the field, 
With arm close bound to duty's shield; 
Aloft the standard hold 
Among the true and bold. 
Turn not ignobly back 
A traitor on life's holy track. ; 
But fall on valiant ground, 
And be with honor crowned. 
A rank among the faithful claim, 
And leave to earth a blessed name 
That kin and kind may hold 
Above the price of gold. 

Anon. 

Wherever a man has placed himself thinking it the 
best place for him, or has been placed by a com- 
mander, there in my opinion he ought to stay and to 
abide the hazard, taking nothing into the reckoning, 
either death or anything else, before the baseness of 
deserting his post. 

M, Aurelius Antoninus. 



292 



October 14. 



This God is our God for ever and ever : He will be 
our guide even unto death. — Ps. xlviii, 14, 

When we cannot see our way, 
Let us trust and still obey ; 

He who bids us forward go, 
Cannot fail the way to show. 
Though the sea be deep and wide, 
Though a passage seem denied ; 
Fearless let us still proceed, 
Since the Lord vouchsafes to lead. 

Anon. 

There is nothing like the first glance we get at 
duty, before there has been any special pleading of 
our affections or inclinations. Duty is never uncertain 
at first. It is only after we have got involved in the 
mazes and sophistries of wishing that things were 
otherwise than they are, that it seems indistinct. 
Considering a duty is often only explaining it away. 
Deliberation is often only dishonesty. God's guidance 
is plain, when we are true. 

F. W. Robertson. 



October 15. 



2 93 



We ought to obey God rather than men. — Acts 
v, 29. 

Great may be he who can command, 
And rule with just and tender sway ; 

Yet is diviner wisdom taught 
Better by him who can obey. 

Adelaide A. Procter. 

Only some act of devotion, 

Willingly, joyfully done. 
Surely 'twas naught ! 
(So the proud world thought), 

But yet souls for Christ were won ! 

Fidelity in trifles, and an earnest seeking to please 
God in little matters, is a test of real devotion and 
love. Let your aim be to please our dear Lord per- 
fectly in little things, and to attain a spirit of childlike 
simplicity and dependence. 

Jean Nicolas Grou. 

Godliness is the devotion of the soul to God, as to 
a living person whose will is to be its law, whose 
love is to be its life. It is the habit of living before 
the face of God, and not the simply doing certain 
things. 

J. B. Brown. 



294 



October 16, 



Thou God seest me. — Gen. xvi, 13. 

I'm not too young for God to see, 
He knows my name and nature, too ; 

And all day long He looks at me 
And sees my actions through and through. 

If some one great and good is near, 

It makes us careful what we do ; 
And how much more we ought to fear 

The Lord, who sees us through and through. 

From the Young Christian Soldier. 

Anything allowed in the heart which is contrary to 
the will of God, let it seem ever so insignificant, or be 
ever so deeply hidden, will cause us to fall before our 
enemies. Any root of bitterness cherished toward 
another, any self-seeking, any harsh judgments in- 
dulged in, any slackness in obeying the voice of the 
Lord, any doubtful habits or surroundings, any one 
of these things will effectually cripple and paralyze 
our spiritual life. I believe our blessed Guide, the 
indwelling Holy Spirit, is always discovering these 
things to us by continual little twinges and pangs of 
conscience, so that we are left without excuse. 

H. W. S. 

Guilt is best discovered by its own fears. 

Nabb. 



Wickedness resides in the very hesitation about an 
act, even though it be not perpetrated. 

Cicero. 



October 17. 



29s 



Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedi- 
ence of Christ. — II Cor. x, 5. 

Let every thought 

Be captive brought, 
Lord Jesus Christ, to Thine own sweet obedience ! 

That I may know, 

In ebbless flow, 
The perfect peace of full and pure allegiance. 

F. R. Havergal. 

Do not flatter yourself that your thoughts are under 
due control, your desires properly regulated, or your 
dispositions subject as they should be to Christian 
principle, if your intercourse with others consists 
mainly of frivolous gossip, impertinent anecdotes, 
speculations on the character and affairs of your 
neighbors, the repetition of former conversations, or 
a discussion of the current petty scandal of society ; 
much less, if you allow yourself in careless exaggera- 
tion on all these points, and that grievous inattention 
to exact truth which is apt to attend the statements 
of those whose conversation is made up of these 
materials. 

H. Ware, Jr. 

The habit of dissipating every serious thought by a 
succession of agreeable sensations, is as fatal to hap- 
piness as to virtue ; for when amusement is uniformly 
substituted for objects of moral and mental interest, 
we lose all that elevates our enjoyments above the 
scale of childish pleasures. 

Anna Maria Porter. 



296 



October 18. 



Trust in the Lord with all thy heart ; and lean not 
unto thine own understanding. — Prov. iii, 5. 

There is always a river to cross, 

Always an effort to make, 
If there is anything good to win, 

Any rich prize to take. 
Yonder s the fruit we crave, 

Yonder the charming scene ; 
But deep and wide, with troubled tide, 

Is the river that lies between. 

So, ready to do and to dare, 

Should we in our places stand, 
Fulfilling the Master's will, 

Fulfilling the soul's demand ; 
For though as the mountain high 

The billows may war and toss, 
They'll not overwhelm if the Lord's at the helm 

When the difficult river we cross. 

Making up one's mind, even if it can only be to meet 
what comes courageously, is the secret of " taking 
heart." 

A. S. Hardy. 

I've been a great deal happier since I have given 
up thinking about what is easy and pleasant, and being 
discontented because I couldn't have my own will. 
Our life is determined for us ; and it makes the mind 
very free when we give up wishing, and only think of 
bearing what is laid upon us, and doing what is given 
us to do. 

George Eeiot. 



October 19. 297 



If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord 
thy God, blessed shalt thou be. — Deut. xxviii, 2, 3. 

Though heralded with naught of fear, 

Or outward sign or show ; 
Though only to the inward ear 

It whispers soft and low r ; 
Though dropping, as the manna fell, 

Unseen, yet from above, 
Noiseless as dew-fall, heed it well — 

Thy Father's call of love. 

J. G. Whittier. 

The fear of man brings a snare. By halting in our 
duty and giving back in the time of trial, our hands 
grow weaker, our ears grow dull as to hearing the 
language of the true Shepherd ; so that when we look 
at the way of the righteous, it seems as though it was 
not for us to follow them. 

John Woolman. 

If thou canst for awhile cease from thine own speak- 
ing and willing, thou shalt hear unspeakable words 
from God. 

Behmen. 

There is no greater gift or possession than to be- 
lieve God speaks to us. If we believe that, we are 
already blessed. 

Martin Luther. 



298 



October 20. 



Let a man examine himself. — I Cor. xi, 28. 

Return unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen 
by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to 
the Lord: say unto Him, take away all iniquity, and 
receive us graciously. — Hos. xiv, 1, 2. 

Through all the mazes of my heart, 
My search let heavenly wisdom guide, 

And still its radiant beams impart, 
Till all be searched and purified. 

Then, with the visits of Thy love, 
Vouchsafe my inmost soul to cheer ; 

Till even- grace shall join to prove 
That God hath fix'd His dwelling here. 

Philip Doddridge. 

Let not sleep fall upon thy eyes till thou hast 
thrice reviewed the transactions of the past day. 
Where have I turned aside from rectitude ? What 
have I been doing ? What have I left undone which 
I ought to have done ? Begin thus from the first act, 
and proceed ; and, in conclusion, at the ill which thou 
hast done be troubled, and rejoice for the Good. 

Pythagoras. 

It is the advice of the wise man, " Dwell at home," 
or with yourself ; and though there are very few that 
do this, yet it is surprising that the greatest part of 
mankind cannot be prevailed upon at least to visit 
themselves sometimes ; but according to the sayings 
of the wise Solomon, " The eyes of the fool are in 
the ends of the earth." . . . He who teaches men 
the principles and precepts of spiritual wisdom before 
their minds are called off from foreign objects and 
turned inward upon themselves, might as well write 
his instructions, as the sybil wrote her prophecies, on 
the loose leaves of trees, and commit them to the 
mercy of the inconstant winds. 

Archbishop Leighton. 



October 21. 



299 



Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even 
they shall understand the loving-kindness of the 
Lord. — Ps. cvii, 43. 

Count each affliction, whether light or grave, 

God's messenger sent down to thee ; do thou 

With courtesy receive him ; rise and bow : 

And ere his shadow pass thy threshold, crave 

Permission first his heavenly feet to lave ; 

Then lay before him all thou hast, allow 

No cloud of passion to usurp thy brow, 

Or mar thy hospitality ; no wave 

Of mortal tumult to obliterate 

The soul's marmoreal calmness : grief should be 

Like joy, majestic, equable, sedate ; 

Confirming, cleansing, raising, making free ; 

Strong to consume small troubles ; to commend 

Great thoughts, grave thoughts, thoughts lasting to the end.. 

Aubrey de Vere. 

Nothing useless is or low, 

Each thing in its place is best, 

And what seems but idle show, 
Strengthens and supports the rest. 

H. W. Longfellow. 

Every day our Heavenly Father sends messengers 
to bring us closer to Himself: the familiar field 
flowers, which remind us of our innocent childhood ; 
the old songs, which we loved when our lives were 
simpler and truer than now ; the unselfish deed of 
some modern hero ; a line in a poem or a newspaper ; 
a chance-spoken word, or even the face of a stranger. 
There is no creature of God so lowly that He may 
not use it as His interpreter and messenger, filling our 
hearts with a sudden tenderness, and steadying our 
souls with new faith and a brighter hope. 

The Youth's Companion. 



300 



October 22. 



He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of 
thy cry. — Isa. xxx, 19. 

Lord, teach us to pray. — Luke xi, 1. 

O Thou by whom we come to God — 

The life, the truth, the way ! 
The path of prayer Thyself hath trod ; 

Lord, teach us how to pray. 

James Montgomery. 

Whate'er is good to wish, ask that of heaven, 

But if for any wish thou darest not pray, 
Then pray to God to cast that wish away. 

Hartley Coleridge. 

Prayer, administering the perpetual lesson of 
humility, of hope, of love, makes us feel our con- 
nection with heaven through every touch of our 
necessities ; binds us to Providence by a chain of 
daily benefits ; it impresses the heart of all with a per- 
petual remembrance of the God of all. 

George Croly. 

There is no good in praying for anything unless 
you will also try for it. All the sighs and supplica- 
tions in the world will not bring wisdom to the heart 
that fills itself with folly every day, or mercy to the 
soul that sinks itself in sin, or usefulness and honor 
to the life that wastes itself in vanity and inanity. 

Henry J. Van Dyke. 



October 23. 



301 



But without faith it is impossible to please Him. — 
Heb. xi, 6. 

By works was faith made perfect. — James ii, 22. 



To minister to all nor seek return ; 

Freely to give, with never thought to get ; 
To do the service others coldly spurn, 

When, too, no answering gratitude is met ; 

To serve when Duty calls unquestioning, 
Whether the call be one of loss or gain ; 

To deem and do the tasks each day doth bring, 
As sent of God, give they or joy or pain ; 

To tread where Right conducts with steadfast soul, 
That in its consciousness of truth doth rest ; 

To walk by faith, ne'er doubting Heaven's control ; 
Who doeth this shall be supremely blest. 

Phillip Burroughs Strong. 

Faith is the link that binds me to my Saviour ; 
good works the link that binds me to my fellow-men. 
Faith is the light of the soul, love is the mirror in 
which it is reflected. The mind is the prism of faith ; 
the heavenly ray falls on it, and we call the refraction 
by the names of joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 
goodness, meekness, and temperance. Faith without 
works is a vine without grapes ; faith without love is 
the faith of devils. Faith is a fruit tree, and neither 
oaks nor elms, however full of leaf, are accounted 
such. Without faith it is impossible to please God ; 
without works it is impossible to attest its reality be- 
fore men. Faith is the channel by which all that is 
pure and angelic is received into the soul ; love is the 
overflowing of that fountain, which gushes out into 
benevolence and good-will to all. Faith sees with 
the eyes, feels with the heart, and works with the 
hands of love. 

Hugh Nicholas Pearson. 



302 



October 24. 



He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; 
and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also boun- 
tifully. — II Cor. ix, 6. 



The seed you are sowing 
Through time will be growing, 

And each one must gather his own. 
In joy or in sorrow, 
To-day or to-morrow, 

You will reap what your right hand hath sown. 



When I sow my good treasure broadcast as Christ 
did, when I give myself with what I am giving— then, 
as the earth never fails of her harvest, but in the old 
world or the new will surely bring us our daily bread, 
so the soul can never fail of her divine returns, Here 
or yonder, in the full time comes the full blessing ; 
the flower flashing out glory, the fields laughing with 
plenty. 

Robert Collyer. 



October 25. 



303 



Every one of us shall give account of himself to 
God. — Rom. xiv, 12. 

Think naught a trifle, though it small appear ; 
Small sands the mountains, moments make the year, 
And trifles life. 

Young. 

The day will come when men have grace 
To know themselves, and sometimes take 

A humble task, a lowly place, 
And use it well for honor's sake. 

Marianne Farningham. 

We are too fond of our own will. We want to be 
doing what we fancy mighty things ; but the great 
point is to do small things, when called to them, in a 
right spirit. 

R. Cecil. 

The course of life is a thousand trifles, then some 
crisis, and again a thousand trifles and a crisis ; noth- 
ing but green leaves under common sun and shadow, 
and then a storm or a rare June day. And far more 
than the storm or the perfect day the common sun 
and common shadow do to make the autumn rich. 
It is the " every days " that count. They must be 
made to tell, or the years have failed. 

William C. Gaxxett. 



3°4 



October 26. 



But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, 
concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow 
not, even as others which have no hope. — I Thess. 
iv, 13. 

Yet Love will dream, and Faith will trust 
(Since He who knows our need is just), 
That somehow, somewhere, meet we must. 

Alas for him who never sees 

The stars shine through his cypress trees ; 
Who hath not learned in hours of faith, 

The truth of flesh and sense unknown, 
That life is ever Lord of Death, 

And Love can never lose its own. 

J. G. Whittier. 

'Tis sweet, as year by year we lose 

Friends out of sight, in faith to muse 

How grows in Paradise our store. 

John Keble. 

Those who are gone you have. Those who de- 
parted loving you love you still ; and you love them 
always. They are not really gone — those dear hearts 
and true — they are gone into the next room ; and you 
will presently get up and follow them, and yonder 
door will be closed upon you, and you will be no 
more seen. 

William Makepeace Thackeray. 



October 27. 



3°5 



Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. — 
Isa. xl, 1. 

Ask God to give thee skill 

In comfort's art, 
That thou mayst consecrated be, 

And set apart 
Unto a life of sympathy. 
For heavy is the weight of ill 

In every heart ; 
And comforters are needed much, 
Of Christ-like touch. 

Anna E, Hamilton. 

Unless we have a deep and real sympathy we can 
never touch the lives of others. Sympathy is not 
condescending pity. It means the suffering and 
rejoicing so intimately with others that their sorrows 
and joys are really ours. True sympathy cheerfully 
steps out of the sunlight and enters into the shadow 
for the sake of the clouded soul. It leads the strong 
after the fashion of our Lord, to share and to bear 
the infirmities of the weak. 

C. H. Brent. 

Strengthen me by sympathizing with my strength, 
not my weakness, 

Alcott. 

If thou art something, bring thy soul and inter- 
change with mine. 

Schiller. 

20 



306 



OCTOBER 28. 



For none of us liveth to himself. — Rom. xiv, 7. 



The smallest bark on Life's tumultuous ocean 

Will leave a track behind for evermore ; 
The lightest wave of influence, set in motion, 

Extends and widens to the eternal shore. 

We should be wary, then, who go before 
A myriad yet to be, and we should take 

Our bearing carefully, where breakers roar 
And fearful tempests gather ; one mistake 
May wreck unnumber'd barks that follow in our wake. 

Mrs. Sarah K. Bolton. 

Influence is as inseparable from character as the 
fragrance is from the flower, or the shadow from the 
substance. Every one that lives, therefore, lives not 
merely unto himself, but has a subtle effluence always 
radiating from him that produces some effect on 
others. On the rocks beneath us you will find the 
impress of the tiniest insect as well as that of the 
largest megatherium ; and so in the strata of society, 
each man has his own place to fill, and will leave his 
own mark behind for blessing or for the reverse. 

William M. Taylor. 



October 29. 



For I am the Lord, I change not. — Mal. iii, 6. 

" He changeth not," although life's clouds may gather 
And hide awhile the brightness of His face, 
God's smile of love is e'er behind the shadows, 
And a silver rift will show it, if we wait a little space. 

Do not trouble yourselves unduly, for if you do so 
you cannot remove trouble thereby, but you may even 
increase it. If I could do any good by worrying I 
would worry away to my heart's content ; but as it is 
useless, I find it best to let it alone. They tell me 
that if a man were to fall into the sea he would float 
if he would remain quiet, but because he struggles he 
sinks. I am sure it is so when we are in affliction. 
Fretfulness results in weakening us, in hiding from us 
wise methods of relief, and in general in doubling our 
pains. It is folly to kick against the pricks ; it is wis- 
dom to kiss the rod. Trust more and fear less. If 
you have trusted your soul with Christ, can you not 
trust Him with everything else ? . . . " Oh !" says one, 
" I hardly like to do that. It is almost presumption to 
take minor care to the great Lord." But in doing so 
you will prove the truthfulness of your faith. 

There is nothing so small but that we may honor 
God by asking His guidance of it, or insult Him by 
taking it into our own hands. 

John Ruskin. 



3 o8 



OCTOBER 30. 



What shall I render unto the Lord for all His bene- 
fits toward me? — Ps. cxvi, 12. 

What hast thou that thou didst not receive ? — I 
Cor. iv, 7. 

What shall I render to my glorious King ? 

I have but that which I receive from Thee ; 

And what I give Thou givest back to me 
Transmuted by Thy touch, each worthless thing 

Changed to the preciousness of gem or gold, 

And by Thy blessing multiplied a thousand-fold. 

Frances R. Havergal. 

We are members one of another; and he that 
loves God must love his brother also. We have no 
gift simply for ourselves, but whatever gifts, natural 
and spiritual, we have received, they have been be- 
stowed for the common good, for the benefit of our 
brethren as well as ourselves. We are to be ready to 
give and receive help one to and one from another. 

A. C. A. Hall. 



October 31. 



3°9 



But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, 
and shall be quiet from fear of evil. — Prov. i, 33. 

I know not what waits me on any dark morrow, 
And my life in its fullness of bloom is complete ; 

Duty leaves me no time future trouble to borrow, 
And 'tis duty just now to be fragrant and sweet. 

And how for the future can I prepare better 
Than to fill up the present with doing my best? 

A task well done weaves for the future no better ; 
If I do my own part, I can trust for the rest. 

The Household. 

Let not future things disturb thee, for thou wilt 
come to them, if it shall be necessary, having with 
thee the same reason which thou now usest for pres- 
ent things. 

Marcus Antoninus. 

We often distress ourselves greatly in the appre- 
hension of misfortune which, after all, never happens. 
We should do our best, and wait calmly the result. 
We often hear of people breaking down from over- 
work ; but in nine cases out of ten they are really 
suffering from worry or anxiety. 

Sir John Lubbock. 

There was a care on my mind so to pass my time, 
that nothing might hinder me from the most steady 
attention to the voice of the true Shepherd. 

John Woolman. 



3io 



November r. 



And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, for- 
giving one another, even as God for Christ's sake 
hath forgiven you. — Eph. iv, 32. 



" For Christ's sake." therefore, let us do each service 
In just the way that He would have it done — 
O Jesu ! keep us faithful to our purpose, 
And help Thine helpless ones their course to run. 

Charlotte Murray. 



Oh ! let us not wait to be just or pitiful or demon- 
strative toward those we love until they or we are 
struck down by illness or threatened with death. 
Life is short, and we have never too much time for 
gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling 
the dark journey with us. Oh ! be swift to love, 
make haste to be kind. 

Henri Frederic Amiel. 



After you have been kind, after Love has stolen 
forth into the world and done its beautiful work, go 
back into the shade again and say nothing about it. 

Henry Drummoxd. 



November 2. 



311 



Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your 
sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing 
shall come from the presence of the Lord. — Acts iii, 
19. 

'Tis not to cry, Mercy ! or to sit 

And droop, or to confess that thou hast failed ; 
'Tis to bewail the sins thou didst commit, 

And not commit those sins thou hast bewailed. 
He that bewails, and not forsakes them too, 
Confesses rather what he means to do. 

Francis Q carles. 



The completion and sum of repentance is a change 
of life. That sorrow which dictates no caution, that 
fear which does not quicken our escape, that austerity 
which fails to rectify our affections, are vain and un- 
availing. But sorrow and terror must naturally pre- 
cede reformation, for what other cause can produce 
it ? He, therefore, that feels himself alarmed by his 
conscience, anxious for the attainment of a better 
state, and afflicted by the memory of his past faults, 
may justly conclude that the great work of repentance 
is begun, and hope by retirement and prayer, the 
natural and religious means of strengthening his con- 
victions, to impress upon his mind such a sense of 
the Divine presence as may overpower the blandish- 
ments of secular delights, and enable him to advance 
from one degree of holiness to another, till death 
shall set him free from doubt and contest, misery and 
temptation. 

What better can we do than prostrate fall 
Before Him reverent, and there confess 
Humbly our faults, and pardon beg with tears, 
Watering the ground, and with our sighs the air 
Frequenting, sent from hearts contrite, in sign 
Of sorrow unfeigned and humiliation meek? 

Dr. Samuel Johnson. 



312 



November 3. 



If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to for- 
give us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unright- 
eousness. — I John i, 9. 

Sin is the living worm, the lasting fire : 
Hell soon would lose its heat could sin expire. 
One sinless with infernals might do well, 
But sin would make of heaven a very hell. 
Look to thyself, then ; keep it out of door, 
Lest it get in and never leave thee more. 
Fools make a mock of sin, will not believe 
It carries such a dagger in its sleeve ; 
" How can it be," say they, " that such a thing, 
So full of sweetness, e'er should wear a sting?" 
They know not that it is the very spell 
Of sin to make men laugh themselves to hell. 
Look to thyself, then ; deal with sin no more, 
Lest He that save against thee shuts the door. 

John Bunyan. 

There is nothing so hard to die as sin. An atom 
may kill a giant, a word may break the peace of a 
nation, a spark burn up a city ; but it requires earnest 
and protracted struggles to destroy sin in the soul. 

Dr. David Thomas. 

Satan cannot constrain if I do not consent. If I do 
but keep possession, all the posse of hell cannot vio- 
lently eject me ; but I cowardly surrender to his sum- 
mons. Thus there needs no more to my undoing but 
myself. 

Thomas Fuller. 



If thou wouldst keep thy soul pure, beware of spec- 
ulative sinfulness. 

John Cradock. 



November 4. 



3 T 3 



And thus this man died, leaving his death for an 
example of a noble courage, and a memorial of 
virtue, not only unto young men, but unto all his 
nation. — II Mac. vi, 31. 

In struggling with misfortune lies the proof 
Of courage. 

Shakespeare. 

We who defy the devil and all his works 
Are not to quail at any lesser hand, 
However evil and however strong. 

Robert Buchanan. 

Courage consists not in hazarding without fear, but 
being resolutely minded in a just cause. The brave 
man is not he who feels no fear, for that were stupid 
and irrational, but he whose noble soul subdues its 
fears, and bravely dares the danger nature shrinks 
from. Jerrold. 

It requires a good, strong man to say : " I was mis- 
taken, and am sorry." A weak man hesitates and 
often fails to do the right thing. Franklin. 

Tis said courage is common, but the immense 
esteem in which it is held proves it to be rare. Ani- 
mal resistance is, no doubt, common ; but the pure 
article, courage with eyes, courage with conduct, self- 
possession at the cannon's mouth, cheerfulness in 
lonely adherence to the right, is the endowment of 
elevated character. R. W. Emerson. 



Have the courage to obey your Maker at the risk 
of being ridiculed by man. New York Star. 



November 5. 



Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion 
one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courte- 
ous. — I Pet. iii, 8. 

How sweet the charms of courtesy ! 

And gracious words how sweet ! 
No virtue of the soul can be 

Without this grace complete. 
Its fragrant breath befits the rose 
Such pleasure from politeness grows. 

John S. Van Cleve. 



Hear every man upon his favorite theme, 
And ever be more knowing than you seem. 
The lowest genius will afford some light, 
Or give a hint that had escaped your sight. 

Stillingfleet. 

The power of manners is incessant — an element as 
unconcealable as fire. . . . There are certain manners 
which are learned in good society, of that force that, 
if a person have them, he or she must be considered, 
and is everywhere welcome, though without beauty, 
wealth, or genius. . . . The basis of good manners is 
self-reliance. . . . Manners require time, as nothing 
is more vulgar than haste. . . . They must always 
show self-control ; you shall not be facile, apologetic, 
or leaky, but king over your word ; and every gesture 
and action shall indicate power at rest. Then they 
must be inspired by the good heart. There is no 
beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like 
the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. 'Tis 
good to give a stranger a meal or a night's lodging. 
'Tis better to be hospitable to his good meaning and 
thought, and give courage to a companion. We must 
be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, 
which we are willing to give the advantage of a good 
light. Special precepts are not to be thought of; the 
talent of well-doing contains them all. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson. 



November 6. 



3 1 5 



Take heed, and beware of covetousness : for a 
man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the 
things which he possesseth. — Luke xii, 15. 

For not that which men covet most is best, 

Nor that thing worst which men do most refuse ; 
But fittest is, that all contented rest 

With that they hold : each hath his fortune in his breast. 
It is the mind that maketh good or ill, 

That maketh wretch or happy, rich or poor ; 
For some that hath abundance at his will, 

Hath not enough, but wants in greater store ; 

And other, that hath little, asks no more, 
But in that little is both rich and wise ; 

For wisdom is most riches. 

Edmund Spenser. 

Greed in grasping, niggardliness in giving, may let 
Satan enter and make a devil of the best of us. This 
one single element of character has peculiar power 
in detaching disciples from Christ, or turning them 
aside to serve His enemies and ruin a good con- 
science. How often are young and ardent disciples 
drawn away from the simplicity of early faith by the 
effort to get on in the world ? How often are con- 
science and faith sacrificed for lucrative employment ? 
How often are dishonest shifts employed to retain a 
situation, or to push a trade, gambling with other 
men's means, or undertaking obligations without 
resources to meet them ? . . . How more frequently 
still has a man, without conscious dishonesty, or 
extravagance, or ordinary breach of trust, forgotten 
that as a disciple he carries Christ's bag, is a steward 
of His bounty, and is to receive and disburse all his 
own as his Lord's ? . . . There is no disciple that has 
not some time or other to face the surrender of all he 
has for Christ's sake ; but to do that once or twice 
in one's life, and especially in some hour of warm 
enthusiasm, is not nearly so true a test of a man's 
Christian life as to carry the bag every day after 
Christ and His poor disciples, grudging nothing that 
goes in and nothing that goes out. 

D. Maccoll. 



316 



November 7. 



But I will teach you the good and the right way : 
only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all 
your heart. — I Sam. xii, 23, 24. 

We drive the furrow with the share of faith 
Through the waste fields of life, and our own hands 
Sow thick the seeds that spring to weeds or flowers ; 
And never strong necessity not fate 
Trammels the soul that firmly says " I will !" 

Alice Cary. 

The body sins not ; 'tis the will 
That makes the action good or ill. 

Robert Herrick. 

Strength of will is the quality most needing cultiva- 
tion in mankind. Will is the central force which 
gives strength and greatness to character. We over- 
estimate the value of talent because it dazzles us, and 
we are apt to underrate the importance of will, 
because its works are less shining. Talent gracefully 
adorns life, but it is will which carries us victoriously 
through the struggle. Intellect is the torch which 
lights us on our way, will the strong arm which rough 
hews the path for us. . . . In this world there cannot 
be virtue without strong will ; the weak " know the 
right, and yet the wrong pursue." . . . Knowledge, after 
all, is not the greatest thing in life ; it is not the " be-all 
and the end-all here." Life is not science. The light 
of intellect is truly a precious light, but its aim and 
end is simply to shine. The moral nature of man is 
more sacred in my eyes than his intellectual nature. 
I know they cannot be divorced ; that without intelli- 
gence we should be brutes ; but it is the tendency of 
our gaping, wondering dispositions to give pre- 
eminence to those faculties which most astonish us. 
Strength of character seldom, if ever, astonishes ; 
goodness, loving-kindness, and quiet self-sacrifice are 
worth all the talents in the world. 

George Henry Lewes. 



November 8. 



A soft answer turneth away wrath ; but grievous 
words stir up anger. — Prov. xv, r. 

Speak gently ; it is better far 

To rule by love than fear ; 
Speak gently ; let not harsh words mar 

The good we might do here, 

Sunday- School Advocate. 

Gentleness diffuses a blessed calm over the nature. 
Love is the atmosphere of heaven. Long-suffering 
and meekness counteract all those distresses — and 
they are innumerable — which arise from pride, anger, 
and revenge. Peace is but the scriptural name for 
the entire result of combined and blessed satisfaction 
in the heart. 

J. W. Alexander. 

Neither say nor do aught displeasing to thy neigh- 
bor ; and if thou hast been wanting in charity, seek 
his forgiveness, or speak to him with gentleness. 
Speak always with mildness and in a low tone of 
voice. 

L. Scupoli. 

As a man is known by his company, so a man's 
company may be known by his manner of expressing 
himself. 

Swift. 



November 9. 



Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. — Col, 
iii, 15. 

That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. — 
I Tim. ii. 2. 

Just to let thy Father do 

What He will ; 
Just to know that He is true. 

And be still ; 
Just to trust Him, this is all ! 

Then the day will surely be 
Peaceful, whatsoe'er befall, 

Bright and blessed, calm and free. 

F. R. Kavergal, 

Nothing less than the majesty of God. and the 
powers of the world to come, can maintain the peace 
and sanctity of our homes, the order and serenity of 
our minds, the spirit of patience and tender mercy in 
our hearts. Then will even the merest drudgery of 
duty cease to humble us. when we transfigure it by 
the glory of our own spirit. 

J. Martineau. 

True, we can never be at peace till we have per- 
formed the highest duty of all — till we have arisen 
and gone to our Father — but the performance of 
smaller duties, yes. even of the smallest, will do more 
to give us temporary repose, will act more as health- 
ful anodynes, than the greatest joys that can come to 
us from any other quarter. 

George MacDonald. 



November io. 



3 T 9 



I waited patiently for the Lord ; and He inclined 
unto me, and heard my cry. — Ps. xl, i. 

But though He cause grief, yet will He have com- 
passion, according to the multitude of His mercies. — 
Lam. iii, 32. 

And yet these days of dreariness are sent us from above ; 
They do not come in anger, but in faithfulness and love ; 
They come to teach us lessons which bright ones could not 
yield, 

And to leave us blest and thankful when their purpose is 
fulfilled. 

Anox. 

It is possible, when the future is dim, when our de- 
pressed faculties can form no bright ideas of the per- 
fection and happiness of a better world — it is possible 
still to cling to the conviction of God's merciful pur- 
pose toward His creatures, of His parental goodness 
even in suffering ; still to feel that the path of duty, 
though trodden with a heavy heart, leads to peace ; 
still to be true to conscience ; still to do our work, to 
resist temptation, to be useful, though with diminished 
energy, to give up our wills when we cannot rejoice 
under God's mysterious providence. In this patient, 
though uncheered obedience, we become prepared 
for light. The soul gathers force. 

William E. Chaxxixg. 

Why should I start at the plow of my Lord, that 
maketh deep furrows on my soul ? I know He is no 
idle husbandman, He purposeth a crop. 

S. Rutherford. 



320 



November n. 



By works a man is justified, and not by faith only. — 
James ii, 24. 

Never you mind the crowd, lad, 

Or fancy your life won't tell ; 
The work is the work for all that 

To him that doeth it well. 

Fancy the world a hill, lad, 

Look where the millions stop ; 
You'll find the crowd at the base, lad, 

There is always room at the top. 

Wise people rest themselves in changing their 
work. Boiste. 

Work ! You may depend upon it there is nothing 
like work ; nothing like it, not only for the good that 
it does, but for the evil that it prevents. There is 
nothing that the devil hates so much as good hard 
work. He don't so much object to a little occasional 
church-going or psalm-singing ; he isn't afraid of a 
moderate stock of good principles ; he doesn't object 
to a thorough knowledge of the ten commandments, 
and as for just an outside "lick" or two of respect- 
ability and gentility, why, bless you ! he loves it ; but 
he has a mortal fear of honest work. He knows 
that he can always find some wicked things for idle 
hands to do. W. S. Mayo. 

The great human duties are prayer and work — 
prayer for every needed blessing, and work to realize 
it — prayer, as though God must do the whole, and 
work as though we must do it all ourselves. These 
are the two poles of the great galvanic battery. 

ROSWELL DWIGHT HlTCHCOCK. 



November 12. 



321 



Thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all 
that thou puttest thy hands unto. — Deut. xii, 18. 



For wisely the will of the Lord ordains 
From hour to hour our pleasures and pains ; 
The given pain brings a given might, 
The given pleasure yields rare delight. 
In the heart of man 'tis the Spirit's voice 
That crieth ever, " Rejoice ! Rejoice !" 
He shall cheerfully, gratefully, joyfully live, 
Who taketh only what God doth give. 

C. W. Harris. 



If any one would tell you the shortest, surest way 
to all happiness and all perfection, he must tell you 
to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God 
for everything that happens to you. For it is certain 
that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if 
you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a 
blessing. Could you, therefore, work miracles, you 
could not do more for yourself than by this thankful 
spirit ; for it heals with a word speaking, and turns all 
that it touches into happiness. 

William Law. 

21 



November 13. 



The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall 
trust in Him. — Ps. lxiv, 10. 

Just as God leads me would I go ; 

I would not ask to choose my way, 
Content with what He will bestow, 

Assured He will not let me stay. 
So as He leads, my path I make, 
And step by step I gladly take, 

A child in Him confiding. 

Just as God leads I am content ; 

I rest me calmly in His hands ; 
That which He has decreed and sent, 

That which His will for me commands, 
I would that He should all fulfill ; 
That I should do His gracious will, 

In living or in dying. 

I have seemed to see a need of everything God 
gives me, and want nothing that He denies me. 
There is no dispensation, though afflictive, but either 
in it or after it I find I could not be without it. 
Whether it be taken from or not given me, sooner or 
later God quiets me in Himself without it. I cast all 
my concerns on the Lord, and live securely on the 
care and wisdom of my Heavenly Father. My ways, 
you know, are, in a sense, hedged up with thorns, and 
grow darker and darker daily ; but yet I distrust not 
my good God in the least, and live more quietly in 
the absence of all, by faith, than I should do, I am 
persuaded, if I possessed them. 

Anon., 1810. 



November 14. 



For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the 
hungry soul with goodness.-— Ps. cvii, 9. 

Soul of mine, 
Wouldst thou choose for life a motto half Divine? 
Let this be thy guard and guide 
Through the future reaching wide ; 
Whether the good or ill betide, 

Rise higher. 

There is no one but what has more or less strong 
desires to be better than he is. The heart will, at 
times, cry out for something higher, purer, nobler, 
sweeter. . . . The desire may, at first, be very feeble 
— so feeble that it is almost smothered by the rush of 
carnal propensities ; but it should be nursed, cul- 
tivated and strengthened. A certain one says: 
" Even a single live coal, though burning feeble 
and low, if fanned and fed, may kindle into a bright 
and vehement flame. And so a single spark of 
spiritual desire, jealously watched and gently han- 
dled, may, as by a process of evolution, soon flame 
up in rapt and fervent prayer and burst into a beauti- 
ful life, and become a burning and shining light. But 
extinguish that spark, quench that live coal, stifle con- 
viction and strangle desire, and your light may go out 
in darkness and your soul be chilled down to zero, 
and held firm and fast in the grip of spiritual and 
eternal death." All desires toward the good, the true 
and the pure are prompted by the Holy Spirit, and 
they should be promptly and persistently encouraged 
by the possessor of them. Oh ! how many have failed 
here, and forever stopped short of the kingdom, 



November 15. 



3 2 4 



Do all things without murmurings and disputings. 
— Phil, ii, 14. 



The wounded heart is prone to entertain 

Presumptuous thoughts and feelings which arraign 

The appointed course of things ; but what are we, 

Short-sighted creatures of an hour, 

That we should judge ? In part alone we see, 

And this but dimly, He who ordereth all 

Beholdeth all, at once and to the end : 

Upon His wisdom and His power, 

His mercy and His boundless love, we rest ; 

And resting thus in humble faith, we know, 

Whether the present be for weal or woe, 

For us whatever is, must needs be best. 

Robert Southey. 



Even the smallest discontent of conscience may 
render turbid the whole temper of the mind ; but only 
produce the effort that restores its peace, and over the 
whole atmosphere a breath of unexpected purity is 
spread ; doubt and irritability pass as clouds away ; 
the withered sympathies of earth and home open 
their leaves and live ; and through the clearest blue 
the deep is seen of the heaven where God resides. 

j. Martineau. 



November 16. 



3 2 5 



I can do all things through Christ which strength- 
ened me. — Phil, iv, 13. 

Leaning on Him, make with reverent meekness 

His own way thy will, 
And with strength from Him shall thy utter weakness 

Life's tasks fulfill, 

J. G. Whittier, 

No felt evil or defect becomes divine until it is in- 
evitable, and only when resistance to it is exhausted 
and hope is fled does surrender cease to be prema- 
ture. The hardness of our task lies here; that we 
have to strive against the grievous things of life, while 
hope remains, as if they were evil ; and then, when 
the stroke has fallen, to accept them from the hand 
of God, and doubt not they are good. But to the 
loving, trusting heart all things are possible ; and 
even this instant change from over-strained will to 
sorrowful repose, from fullest resistance to complete 
surrender, is realized without convulsion. 

Martineau. 

In the moral world there is nothing impossible, if 
we bring a thorough will to it. Man can do every- 
thing with himself; but he must not attempt to do 
too much with others. 

Wm, von Humboldt. 



326 



November 17. 



Thou hast put gladness in my heart. The secret 
of the Lord is with them that fear Him. — Ps. iv, 7 ; 
xxv, 14. 



Thou hast put gladness in my heart, 

Then well may I be glad ! 
Without the secret of Thy love, 

I could not but be sad. 
O Master, gracious Master, 

What will Thy presence be, 

If such a thrill of joy can crown 

One upward look on Thee ? 

F. R. Havergal. 



All godlike things are joyous. They inherit joy by 
their own right. They sing songs in the soul even 
amidst the agonies of nature. There is no making 
them otherwise than joyous. They have touched 
God, and so they carry with them an irresistible glad- 
ness everywhere. They have an unquenchable sun- 
shine of their own, which the surrounding darkness 
only makes more startlingly bright. 

F. W. Faber. 



November 18. 



3 2 7 



Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from 
me : nevertheless not my will, but Thine, be done. — 
Luke xxii, 42. 

Let nothing make thee sad or fretful, 
Or too regretful. 
Be still ; 

What God hath ordered must be right, 
Then find in it thine own delight. 
My will. 

Why shouldst thou fill to-day with sorrow 
About to-morrow, 

My heart ? 
One watches all with care most true, 
Doubt not that He will give thee, too, 

Thy part. 

Only be steadfast, never waver, 
Nor seek earth's favor, 
But rest ; 

Thou knowest what God's Will must be 
For all His creatures — so, for thee 
The best. 

Paul Flemming. 

Resignation to the will of God is the whole of 
piety ; it includes in it all that is good, and is a source 
of the most settled quiet and composure of mind. 
Our resignation to the will of God may be said to be 
perfect when our will is lost and resolved up into 
His ; when we rest in His will as our end, as being 
itself most just and right and good. And where is 
the impossibility of such an affection to what is just 
and right and good, such a loyalty of heart to the 
Governor of the universe as shall prevail over all 
sinister indirect desires of our own ? 

Joseph Butler. 



November 19. 



A good name is rather to be chosen than great 
riches. — Prov. xxii, i. 



Good name was dear to all : without it none 
Could soundly sleep, even on a royal bed, 
Or drink with relish from a cup of gold ; 
And with it, on his borrowed straw, or by 
The leafless hedge, beneath the open heavens, 
The weary beggar took untroubled rest. 

. . . It was of price 
Invaluable — riches, health, repose, 
Whole kingdoms, life, were given for it, and 
Who got it was the winner still ; and he 
Who sold it durst not open his ear nor look 
On human face, he knew himself so vile. 

Robert Pollok. 



There are three crowns — the crown of the law, the 
crown of the priesthood, and the crown of royalty — 
but the crown of a good name is superior to them all. 

Talmud, tr. Aboth. 



Time never fails to bring every exalted reputation 
to a strict scrutiny. 

Fisher Ames. 



November 20. 



329 



Trust ye in the Lord for ever : for in the Lord 
Jehovah is everlasting strength. — Isa. xxvi, 4. 

Whatsoe'er our lot may be, 

Calmly in this thought we'll rest — 

Could we see as Thou dost see, 
We should choose it as the best. 

Wm. G ask ell. 

" The lesson of trust is one that God is seeking to 
teach us in all the experiences of life. In this trust we 
find hope and refuge. Some dark clouds will be scat- 
tered in the progress of our earthly pilgrimage, others 
will not pass away until we enter the illumination of 
that life where this mortal shall put on immortality, 
What God asks of us now is, that we cleave stead- 
fastly to Him and wait patiently the disclosure of His 
will. It is the very attitude in which parents stand 
toward their children. It is quite impossible for 
the parent always to tell children why it is for their 
good that they should be denied some coveted plea- 
sure, or why they should undertake tasks that for the 
moment are irksome and disagreeable. Only as they 
come into the broader experiences and larger life of 
mature years can they understand the love that com- 
pels restraint, denial, and even punishment. While in 
patient trust we wait the time when the shadows of 
mystery will be cleared away, let us rejoice in the light 
that even now comes through the clouds. The trial 
that sends us to God for help, quickens and bestirs 
the faith that gives the victory that overcomes the 
world." 



33° 



November 21. 



Let your light so shine before men, that they may 
see your good works, and glorify your Father which 
is in heaven. — Matt, v, 16. 

Follow with reverent steps the great example 
Of Him whose holy work was " doing good ;" 

So shall the wide earth seem our Father's temple, 
Each loving life a psalm of gratitude. 

John Greenleaf Whittier. 

Dr. Johnson wisely said : " He who waits to do a 
great deal of good at once will never do anything." 
Life is made up of little things. It is but once in an 
age that occasion is offered for a great deed. True 
greatness consists in being great in little things. How 
are railways built ? By one shovelful of dirt after 
another ; one shovelful at a time. Thus drops make 
the ocean. Hence we should be willing to do a little 
good at a time, and never " wait to do a great deal of 
good at once." If we would do much good in the 
world we must be willing to do good in little things, 
little acts, one after another, speaking a word here, 
giving a tract there, and setting a good example at all 
times ; we must do the first good thing we can, and 
then the next, and the next, and so keep on doing. 
This is the way to accomplish anything. Thus only 
shall we do all the good in our power. 



November 22. 



33 1 



He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful 
also in much. — Luke xvi, 10. 

Faithfulness in the humblest part 
Is better at last than proud success. 

Trowbridge. 

Faithfulness in little things fits one for heroism 
when the great trials come. 

Louisa M. Alcott. 

It is not on great occasions only that we are re- 
quired to be faithful to the will of God ; occasions 
constantly occur, and we should be surprised to per- 
ceive how much our spiritual advancement depends 
on small obediences. 

Madame Swetchine. 

It is the easiest thing in the world to obey God 
when He commands us to do what we like, and to 
trust Him when the path is all sunshine. The real 
victory of faith is to trust God in the dark and through 
the dark. Let us be assured of this, that if the lesson 
and the rod are of His appointing, and His all-wise 
love has engineered the tunnels of trial on the heaven- 
ward road, He will never desert us during the dis- 
cipline. The vital thing for us is not to deny and 
desert Him. 

Theodore L. Cuyler. 



332 



November 23. 



Be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, 
and work ; for I am with you. saith the Lord of hosts. — 
Haggai ii, 4. 

We rise to meet a heavy blow — 
Our souls a sudden bravery fills — 

But we endure not always so 
The drop-by-drop of little ills ; 

We still deplore and still obey 

The hard behests of every day. 

Ah ! more than martyr's aureole. 

And more than hero's heart of fire, 
We need the humble strength of soul 

Which daily toils and ills require — 
Sweet Patience ! grant us if you may, 
An added grace for every day, 

Elizabeth Akers Allen. 



If you could once make up your mind in the fear 
of God never to undertake more work of any sort 
than you can carry on calmly, quietly, without hurry 
or flurry, and the instant you feel yourself growing 
nervous and like one out of breath, would stop and 
take breath, you would find this simple, common- 
sense rule doing for you what no prayers or tears 
could ever accomplish. 

Elizabeth Prentiss. 

If thou workest at that which is before thee, follow- 
ing right reason, seriously, vigorously, calmly, with- 
out allowing anything else to distract thee, but keep- 
ing thy divine part pure as if thou shouldst be 
bound to give it back immediately — if thou holdest 
to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satis- 
fied with thy present activity according to nature, and 
with heroic truth in each word and sound which thou 
utterest, thou wilt live happy. And there is no man 
who is able to prevent this. 

Marcus Antoninus. 



November 24. 



333 



Ye are the temple of the living God. — II Cor. 
vi, 16. 

The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. — 
I Cor. hi, 17. 

Now shed Thy mighty influence abroad 
On souls that would their Father's image bear ; 

Make us as holy temples of our God, 
Where dwells forever calm, adoring prayer. 

C. J. P. Spitta. 



Thou art to know that thy soul is the centre, habita- 
tion, and kingdom of God. That, therefore, to the end 
the sovereign King may rest on that throne of thy soul, 
thou oughtest to take pains to keep it clean, quiet, 
and peaceable — clean from guilt and defects ; quiet 
from fears ; and peaceable in temptations and tribula- 
tions. Thou oughtest always, then, to keep thine 
heart in peace, that thou mayest keep pure that temple 
of God ; and with a right and pure intention thou art 
to work, pray, obey, and suffer (without being in the 
least moved), whatever it pleases the Lord to send 
unto thee. 

M. Molinos. 



334 



November 25. 



Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is 
merciful. — Luke vi, 36. 

Wilt thou draw near the nature of the Gods ? 
Draw near them then in being merciful : 
Sweet Mercy is Nobility's true badge. 

Shakespeare. 

Kneel not to me : 
The power that I have on you, is to spare you ; 
The malice toward you, to forgive you ; live, 
And deal with others better. 

Ibid, 

Let not the sun go down upon thy wrath, but write 
thy wrongs in ashes. Draw the curtain of night upon 
injuries, shut them up in the tower of oblivion, and 
let them be as though they had not been. To forgive 
our enemies yet hope that God will punish them, is 
not to forgive enough. To forgive them ourselves, 
and not to pray God to forgive them, is a partial act 
of charity. Forgive thine enemies totally and with- 
out any reserve. 

Sir Thomas Browne. 

Does any man wound thee ? Not only forgive, 
but work into thy thought intelligence of the kind of 
pain, that thou mayest never inflict it on another spirit. 

Margaret Fuller. 



November 26. 



335 



They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. — Ps. 
cxxvi, 5. 

Thou knowest not which seed shall grow, 

Or which may die or live ; 
In faith and hope and patience sow ! 

The increase God shall give — 
According to His gracious will, 
As best His purpose may fulfill. 

Bernard Barton. 

Scatter the seed of the Word. " Sow beside all 
waters." Don't wait ! Look not so much for results 
as you look to your own work, that it be done, and 
done faithfully. Don't wait to see what will come of 
it before you begin to scatter the seed. Thou knowest 
not which shall prosper, whether this or that, but keep 
on sowing the good seed of the Word, and God will 
mind the results, and you will know them in the eter- 
nal world, if not before. Go out and look for some 
poor soul in distress, to whom you may present the 
consolations of the gospel. Give a morsel to the 
soul that is ready to give up through the weakness of 
his knowledge or faith. See that you help to deliver 
that brother from the temptations that are bearing 
him downward. Speak a word in season to that sister 
who is ready to fall into the hands of the betrayer. 
Give the children a helping hand in their little trou- 
bles, to them so great. Distribute the sunshine of 
gospel truth and gracious manifestation all along your 
pathway, and the seed will grow and bring forth a 
harvest, oh, so glorious ! 

Christian Home. 



336 



November 27. 



Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, 
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, 
forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain 
in the Lord. — I Cor. x\\ 58, 

We shall not pass this way again, 

Oh ; heed the passing hours ; 
And let each day a record make, 
Of something pure and noble. 
A smiling face, a cheering word, 
Makes others round us happy. 
And lightens up the rugged way, 
That leads us on to glory. 

Boston Courier, 

We dc not always perceive that even the writing of 
a note of congratulation, the fabrication of something 
intended as an ottering of affection, our necessary in- 
tercourse with characters which have no congeniality 
with our own, or hours apparently trifled away in the 
domestic circle, may be made by us the performance 
of a most sacred and blessed work ; even the carry- 
ing out, after our feeble measure, of the design of God 
for the increase of happiness. 

Anna, or Passages from Home Life. 

When men do anything for God, the very least 
thing, they never know where it will end, nor what 
amount of work it will do for Him. Love's secret, 
therefore, is to be always doing things for God. and 
not to mind because they are very little ones. 

Frederick William Faber. 



November 28. 



337 



Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth 
his soul from troubles. — Prov. xxi, 23. 



Words are mighty, words are living ; 

Serpents with their venomous stings, 
Or bright angels crowding round us 

With heaven's light upon their wings. 
Every word has its own spirit, 

True or false, that never dies ; 
Every word man's lips have uttered 

Echoes in God's skies. 

Adelaide A. Procter. 



Cross words are meant to make us gentle, and de- 
lays teach patience, and care teaches faith, and press 
of business makes us look out for minutes to give to 
God, and disappointment is a special messenger to 
summon our thoughts to heaven. If, when they come, 
we would seek, not to run away from them, but to 
learn God's lesson in them, we should soon leave off 
calling them trying. 

Sewell. 

22 



333 



November 29. 



Give us this day our daily bread. — Matt, vi, n. 

Grant us not the ill 
We blindly ask ; in very love refuse 
Whate'er Thou know'st our weakness would abuse, 
Or rather help us, Lord, to choose the good. 
To pray for naught, to seek to none, but Thee, 
Nor by " our daily bread," mean common food, 
Nor say, " From this world's evil set us free," 
Teach us to live, with Christ, our sole true bliss, 
Else, though in Christ's own words, we pray amiss. 

John Keble. 

What is this bread, O my God ? It is not merely 
the support which Thy providence supplies for the 
necessities of life ; it is also the nourishment of truth 
which Thou givest each day to the soul. It is the 
bread of eternal life, giving it vigor, and making it 
grow in faith. Thou dost renew it every day. Thou 
givest within and without precisely what the soul 
needs for its advancement in a life of faith and renun- 
ciation. For whatever happens to me each day is my 
daily bread, provided I do not refuse to take it from 
Thy hand and feed upon it. 

FfiNELON. 



November 30. 



339 



A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips ; and a liar 
giveth ear to a naughty tongue. — Prov. xvii, 4. 

First somebody told it, 

Then the room wouldn't hold it, 

So the busy tongues rolled it 

Till they got it outside ; 
Then the crowd came across it 
And never once lost it, 
But tossed it and tossed it 

Till it grew long and wide. 

Old Rhyme. 

Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which 
fits them all 

Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

Be sure no falsehood perishes, but is as a seed 
thrown out to grow. 

Carlyle. 

The essence of lying is in deception, not in words. 
A lie may be told by silence, by equivocation, by the 
accent on a syllable, by a glance of the eye attaching 
a peculiar significance to a sentence ; and all these 
kinds of lies are worse and baser by many degrees 
than a lie plainly worded ; so that no form of blinded 
conscience is so far sunk as that which comforts itself 
for having deceived because the deception was by 
gesture or silence, instead of utterance. 

John Ruskin. 



340 



December i. 



Great peace have they which love Thy law. — Ps. 
cxix, 165. 

Trust in Him at all times. — Ps. Ixii, 8. 

" All will be well." Why should we ever doubt it? 

There was no blunder in creation's plan ; 
When God's vast mind conceived and went about it 

He was not aided nor controlled by man. 
The stars that move in such immortal beauty 

Through their appointed pathways seem to tell 
Our questioning souls, if we but do our duty, 
'''All will be well. 1 ' 

The root of all dissatisfaction and discontent with 
self and with one's surroundings and with one's pros- 
pects can never be reached until we go down to the 
will of God in our soul's birth and soul's mission, and 
make the discovery of that will for us and the doing 
it our chief aim and hope. No change in life's cir- 
cumstances, no larger work, no happier outlook will 
be enough, We ourselves need to be born again. 
It is not our outward life that needs to be refashioned. 

Newman Smyth. 

Learn these two things — never to be discouraged 
because good things get on slowly here, and never 
fail daily to do that good which lies next your hand. 



December 2. 



34t 



And this I pray, that your love may abound yet 
more and more in knowledge and in all judgment ; 
that ye may approve things that are excellent ; that 
ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of 
Christ. — Phil, i, 9, 10. 

In conversation be sincere, 
Keep conscience as the noontide clear ; 
Think how All-seeing God thy ways 
And all thy secret thoughts surveys. 

Thomas Ken. 

Sincerity is like traveling in a plain, beaten road, 
which commonly brings a man much sooner to his 
journey's end than by-ways, in which men often lose 
themselves. 

Am I acting in simplicity from a germ of the Divine 
life within, or am I shaping my path to obtain some 
immediate result of expediency? Am I endeavoring 
to compass effects amidst a tangled web of foreign 
influences I cannot calculate, or am I seeking simply 
to do what is right and leaving the consequences to 
the good providence of God ? 

M. A. SCHIMMELPENNIXCK. 



342 



December 3. 



A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance : but 
by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. — Prov. 
xv, 13. 

But this is the time the heart to test, 
When winter is near and storms are howling, 

And the earth from under her frozen vest 
Looks up at the sad sky, mute and scowling. 

The brave little spirit should rise to meet 

The season's gloom and the day's repining ; 
And this is the time to be glad, for, sweet, 
" 'Tis easy to laugh when the sun is shining !" 

Wide Awake. 

You can train the eye to see all the bright places 
in your life, and so slip over the hard ones with sur- 
prising ease. You can also train the eye to rest on 
the gloomy spots in utter forgetfulness of all that is 
bright and beautiful. The former is the better educa- 
tion. Life is too short to nurse one's misery ; hurry 
across the lowlands that you may linger on the moun- 
tain-tops. 

A good thing to do on cloudy days is to try to push 
the clouds away from somebody else's windows. 



Though sometimes small evils, like invisible in- 
sects, inflict pains, and a single hair may stop a vast 
machine, yet the chief secret of comfort lies in not 
suffering trifles to vex one, and in prudently culti- 
vating an undergrowth of small pleasures, since very 
few great ones, alas ! are let on long leases. 



December 4. 



343 



Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, 
live in peace ; and the God of love and peace shall be 
with you. — II Cor. xiii, n. 

Drop Thy still dews of quietness, 

Till all our striving cease ; 
Take from our souls the strain and stress, 
And let our ordered lives confess 

The beauty of Thy peace. 

J. G, YYhittier. 

Possess yourself as much as you possibly can in 
peace ; not by any effort, but by letting all things fall 
to the ground which trouble or excite you. This is 
no work, but is, as it were, a setting down a fluid to 
settle that has become turbid through agitation. 

Madame Guyon. 

Through the spirit of Divine Love let the violent, 
obstinate powers of thy nature be quieted, the hard- 
ness of thy affections softened, and thine intractable 
self-will subdued ; and as often as anything contrary 
stirs within thee, immediately sink into the blessed 
Ocean of meekness and love. 

G. Tersteegen. 

Five great enemies to Peace inhabit with us, viz. : 
Avarice, Ambition, Envy, Anger, and Pride, and if 
those enemies were to be banished we should infalli- 
bly enjoy perpetual Peace. 

Petrarch. 



344 



December 5. 



Speak not evil of one another, brethren. — James 
iv, 11. 

Other people have their faults, 

And so have you as well ; 
But all ye chance to see or hear 

Ye have no right to tell. 

If ye canna speak o' good, 

Oh ! dinna speak at all ; 
For there is grief and woe enough 

On this terrestrial ball. 

If ye should feel like picking flaws 

Ye better go, I ween, 
And read the Book that tells ye all 

About the mote and beam. 

Oh ! dinna add to other's woe, 

Nor mock it with your mirth ; 
But give ye kindly sympathy 

To suffering ones on earth. 

It is much easier to be critical than to be correct. 

Disraeli. 

A carping spirit rarely goes with a working spirit. 
It is easier to find fault with what some one else does 
than it is to do something one's self, hence a man 
who enjoys doing the easier thing is disinclined to do 
the harder one. As a rule, men are divided into the 
two classes of those who growl and those who work ; 
and each class is alike devoted to its own mission. 
But when it comes to the relative worth in the com- 
munity of the two classes everybody can see the dif- 
ference. 



December 6. 



345 



Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the 
Lord, which He will show to you to-day. — Ex. xiv, 13. 

O power to do ; O baffled will ! 

O prayer and action ! ye are one. 
Who may not strive, may yet fulfill 
The harder task of standing still, 

And good but wished with God is done. 

J. G. Whittier. 

They also serve who only stand and wait. 

John Milton. 

Study to follow His will in all, to have no will but 
His. This is thy duty, and thy wisdom. Nothing is 
gained by spurning and struggling but to hurt and 
vex thyself ; but by complying all is gained — sweet 
peace. It is the very secret, the mystery of solid 
peace within, to resign all to His will, to be disposed 
of at His pleasure, without the least contrary thought. 

Robert Leightox. 

A soul cannot be regarded as truly subdued and 
consecrated in its will, and as having passed into 
union with the Divine will, until it has a disposition 
to do promptly and faithfully all that God requires, as 
well as to endure patiently and thankfully all that He 
imposes. 

T. C. Uph AM. 



346 



December 7. 



A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures 
of silver. — Prov. xxv, ii. 

Cross words are like ugly weeds, 
Pleasant words are like fair flowers ; 

Let us sow sweet thoughts for seeds, 
In these garden-hearts of ours. 

Youth's Companion. 

Sweet as refreshing dews or summer showers 
To the long parching thirst of drooping flowers ; 
Grateful as fanning gales to fainting swains. 
And soft as trickling balm to bleeding pains, 
Such are thy words. 

John Gay. 

They [kind words] never blister the tongue or lips. 
And we never heard of an)* mental trouble arising 
from this quarter. Though they do not cost much, 
yet they accomplish much. They help one's own 
good nature and good will. Soft words soften our 
own soul. Angry words are fuel to the flame of 
wrath, and make it burn more fiercely. Kind words 
make other people good-natured. Cold words freeze 
people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words 
make them bitter, and wrathful words make them 
wrathful. There is such a rush of all other kind of 
words in our day, that it seems desirable to give kind 
words a chance among them. . . . Kind words also 
produce their own image on men's souls. And a 
beautiful image it is. They soothe, and quiet, and 
comfort the hearer. The)* shame him out of his sour, 
morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to 
use kind words in such abundance as they ought to 
be used. Blaise Pascal. 



December 8. 



347 



Showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the 
doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. — Titus ii, 
10. 

Be but faithful., that is all ; 
Go right on. and close behind thee 
There shall follow still, and find thee, 

Help, sure help. 

Arthur Hugh Clough. 

Have you ever considered the Christian duty of 
being pleasant ? Whether you feel happy or worried, 
whether things are going well or ill with you, you 
have no right, by your words or even by a doleful 
countenance, to cast gloom on others. As a Chris- 
tian, you have, or ought to have, a light in your 
heart, and you are commanded to let it shine. You 
are not only to rejoice, but to impart joy, evermore. 
Have you ever tried, through the duties and trials of 
one day. 11 to be a blessing," making your very 
presence a light and joy to all you meet ? Try it. 

With meekness, humility, and diligence apply your- 
self to the duties of your condition. They are the 
seemingly little things which make no noise that do 
the business. 

Henry More. 

If content and thankfulness, if the patient bearing 
of evil, be duties to God, they are the duties of every 
day, and in every circumstance of our life. If we are 
to follow Christ, it must be in our common way of 
spending every day. 

William Law. 



348 



December 9. 



O keep my soul, and deliver me : for I put my trust 
in Thee. — Ps. xxv, 20. 

Out ! out, away ! 
Soul, in this alien house thou hast no stay ! 

Seek thou thy dwelling in eternity ; 

'Tis there shall be 
Thy hiding-place, thy nest, 

Where not the world, nor self, can break thy rest. 

Within the heart of God, 

There is thy still abode- 
There may'st thou dwell at rest, and be at home, 
Howe'er the body here may toil and roam. 

Gerhard Tersteegen. 

The soul hath never such freedom from sin as when 
it is in a thankful frame ; for thankfulness issues from 
a heart truly humbled and emptied of itself, truly 
loving and rejoicing in God. 

Richard Sibbes. 

The soul spreads its own hue over everything ; the 
shroud or wedding garment of nature is woven in the 
loom of our own feelings. This universe is the ex- 
press image and direct counterpart of the souls that 
dwell in it. Be noble-minded, and all nature replies, 
" I am Divine, the child of God — be thou, too, His 
child, and noble." Be mean, and all nature dwindles 
into a contemptible smallness. 

F. W. Robertson. 

The effect of every burden laid down is to leave us 
relieved; and when the soul has laid down that of its 
faults at the feet of Christ, it feels as if it had wings. 

Eugenie de GuSrin. 



December io. 



349 



Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be 
found faithful, — I Cor, iv, 2. 

I hold it the duty of one who is gifted 
And royally dowered in all men's sight, 

To know no rest till his life is lifted 
Fully up to his great gift's height. 

Great gifts should be worn like a crown befitting. 
And not like gems on a beggar's hands ; 

And the toil must be constant and unremitting 
That lifts up the King to the Crown's demands. 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

'Tis not the dying for a faith that's so hard. 
Some men of every nation have done that ; 
'Tis the living up to it that's so difficult. 

Thackeray. 

Act up faithfully to your convictions ; and when 
you have been unfaithful, bear with yourself, and re- 
sume always with calm simplicity your little task. 
Suppress, as much as you possibly can, all recurrence 
to yourself, and you will suppress much vanity. Ac- 
custom yourself to much calmness and an indifference 
to events. 

Madame Guyon. 



35° 



December ii. 



It is more blessed to give than to receive. — Acts 
xx, 35. 

If we sit down at set of sun, 

And count the things that we have done, 

And counting, find 
One self-denying act, one word 
That eased the heart of him who heard ; 

One glance most kind, 
That fell like sunshine where it went, 
Then we may count that day well spent. 

But if, through all the live-long day, 
We've eased no heart by yea or nay ; 

If through it all 
We've done no thing that we can trace, 
That brought the sunshine to a face ; 

No act, most small, 
That helped some soul, and nothing cost, 
Then count that day as worse than lost. 

Every good act is charity. Putting a wanderer in 
the right way is charity. Removing stones and thorns 
from the road is charity. Smiling in your brother's 
face is charity. 

Mahomet. 

Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, 
but of little things, in which smiles and kindnesses 
and small obligations given habitually win and pre- 
serve the heart and secure comfort. 

Sir Humphrey Davy. • 



December 12. 



351 



For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are 
your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For, as the 
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways 
higher than your ways and my thoughts than your 
thoughts. — Isa. lv, 8, 9. 

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 

But trust Him for His grace ; 
Behind a frowning providence 

He hides a smiling face. 

His purposes will ripen fast, 

Unfolding every hour ; 
The bud may have a bitter taste, 

But sweet will be the flower. 

William Cowper. 

The decrees of Providence are inscrutable. In 
spite of man's short-sighted endeavors to dispose of 
events according to his own wishes and his own pur- 
poses, there is an Intelligence beyond his reason 
which holds the scales of justice and promotes his 
well-being, in spite of his puny efforts. 

James Morier. 

Oh ! what a history might we compile of our own 
experiences, whilst, with a melting heart, we trace the 
footsteps of Providence all along the way it has led us 
to this day, and set our remarks upon its more eminent 
performances for us in the several stages of our lives ! 
Here it prevented, and there it delivered — here it 
directed, and there it corrected. In this it grieved, and 
in that relieved. . . . This Providence raised a dismal 
cloud, and that dispelled it again. This straightened, 
and that enlarged. Here a want, and there a supply. 
This relation withered, and that spri?igi?ig up in its 
place. Words cannot express the high delight and 
gratification a gracious heart may find in such em- 
ployment as this. 

John Flavel. 



352 



December 13. 



Ye are all the children of light and the children of 
the day. — I Thess. v, 5. 



There's plenty of sunshine to spare for us all, 

Then into our lives let us take it ; 
The world, though brimful of the glorious light, 

Can be dark, if we choose so to make it. 
We must open our hearts, let the sunlight pour in, 

And light up the dark, dreary places ; 
With sunshine without and sunshine within, 

Nevermore shall we see gloomy faces. 

We should seek out the lives that are clouded and sad, 

Where sunshine perchance hath ne'er entered, 
And give to them freely from our brimming cup, 

Where sunshine and peace long have centered. 
Oh ! all the world over there's light for us all, 

Then into our lives let us take it ; 
The world, though brimful of the glorious light, 

Can be dark, if we choose so to make it. 

Mary L. Brine. 



A smile is the same as sunshine ; it banishes winter 
from the human countenance. 

Victor Hugo. 

Take thy self-denials gayly and cheerfully, and let 
the sunshine of thy gladness fall on dark things and 
bright alike, like the sunshine of the Almighty. 

James Freeman Clarke. 

The habit of looking at the best side of any event 
is worth far more than a thousand pounds a year. 

Samuel Johnson. 



December 14. 



353 



As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good 
unto all men, especially unto them who are of the 
household of faith. — Gal. vi, 10. 

Despise not thou small things : 

The soul that longs for wings 
To soar to some great height of sacrifice, too oft 

Forgets the daily round, 

Where little cares abound, 
And shakes off little duties while she looks aloft. 

Character is being tested every day. One of the 
best tests is opportunity. The opportunity of assisting 
the man who had fallen among thieves tested and re- 
vealed the true character of the priest, the Levite, and 
the Good Samaritan. 

There is always some one to smile at ; somebody to 
whom a book, a flower, or even an old paper will be a 
boon. These small attentions will open the way to 
confidence, will make it possible that in need these 
friends will give you opportunities to help them, which, 
unless you had shown thoughtfulness and regard for 
them they could never have done. A quiet, sympa- 
thetic look or smile many a time unbars a heart that 
needs the help which you can give. 

Josephine Pollard, 

23 



354 



December 15. 



He will beautify the meek with salvation. — Ps. 
cxlix, 4. 

The Lord lifteth up the meek. — Ps. cxlvii, 6. 

It is time to be brave. It is time to be true. 
It is time to be finding the thing you can do. 
It is time to put by the dream and the sigh, 
And work for the cause that is holy and high. 

It is time to be kind. It is time to be sweet. 
To be scattering roses for somebody's feet. 
It is time to be sowing. It is time to be growing. 
It is time for the flowers of life to be blowing. 

It is time to be lowly and humble of heart. 
It is time for the lilies of meekness to start ; 
For the heart to be white and the steps to be right. 
And the hands to be weaving a garment of light. 

Anonymous. 

Some glances of real beauty may be seen in their 
faces, who dwell in true meekness. There is a har- 
mony in the sound of that voice to which Divine 
love gives utterance, and some appearance of right 
order in their temper and conduct whose passions 
are regulated. 

John Woolman. 

The Saviour bids us be meek and lowly in heart ; 
and this meekness is a casting down of all confidence 
in self, that from God alone help may be derived. 

Fenelon. 



December 16. 



355 



Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips, that they 
speak no guile. — Ps. xxxiv, 13. 

Govern thy lips 
As they were palace-doors, the king within ; 
Tranquil and fair and courteous be all words 
Which from that presence win. 

Edwin Arnold. 



I think the first virtue is to restrain the tongue ; he 
approaches nearest to the gods who knows how to be 
silent, even though he is in the right. 

Cato. 



A judicious reticence is hard to learn, but it is one 
of the great lessons of life. 

Lord Chesterfield. 



We are commanded to beware of idle speaking ; 
beware we also of things which foster it — idle hearing 
and idle seeing, and knowledge of idle things, 

E. B. PUSEY. 



356 



December 17. 



We know that we have passed from death unto life, 
because we love the brethren. — I John iii, 14. 

And he who loves the best his fellow-man 
Is loving God the holiest way he can. 

Alice Cary. 

The essence of true love is not its tenderness, but 
its strength, power of endurance, its purity, its self- 
renunciation. The mistake we make, is when we 
seek to be beloved, instead of loving. What makes 
us cowardly is the fear of losing that love. Never 
forget this : A selfish heart desires love for itself — a 
Christian heart delights to love — without return. 

Gold Dust. 

The pressure of a hand, a kiss, the caress of a 
child, will do more to save sometimes than the wisest 
argument even rightly understood. Love alone is 
wisdom ; love alone is power. And where love seems 
to fail, it is where self has stepped between and 
dulled the potency of its rays. 

George MacDonald. 



December 18. 



357 



Who can understand his errors ? cleanse Thou me 
from secret faults. — Ps. xix, 12, 

Don't look for flaws as you go through life ; 

And even when you find them, 
It is wise and kind to be somewhat blind, 

And look for the virtue behind them. 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

However good you may be, you have faults ; how- 
ever dull you may be, you can find out what some of 
them are ; and however slight they may be, you had 
better make some patient effort to get rid of them. 

John Ruskin. 

You will find it less easy to uproot faults than 
to choke them by gaining virtues. Do not think 
of your faults ; still less of others' faults ; in every 
person who comes near you look for what is good and 
strong : honor that ; rejoice in it ; and, as you can, try 
to imitate it ; and your faults will drop off, like dead 
leaves, when their time comes. 

John Ruskin. » 



35S 



December 19. 



Judge not, that ye be not judged. — Matt, vii, i. 

"When you meet with one suspected 

Of some secret deed of shame, 
And for this by all rejected, 

As a thing of evil fame, 
Guard thine every look and action 

Speak no words of harmless blame. 

" Think, if placed in his condition, 
Would a kind word be in vain ? 
Or a cold look of suspicion 
Win thee back to truth again? 

11 Better have an act that's kindly 
Treated some time with disdain, 
Than by judging blindly, 
Doom the innocent to pain." 

Guilelessness is the grace for suspicious people. 
And the possession of it is the great secret of per- 
sonal influence. You will find, if you think for a mo- 
ment, that the people who influence you are people 
who believe in } t ou. In an atmosphere of suspicion 
men shrivel up ; but in that atmosphere they expand, 
and find encouragement and educative fellowship. 

Henry Drummoxd. 

Every considerate word we utter concerning those 
about us, every time we give them the benefit of a 
doubt in our judgment of their motive, we are habit- 
uating ourselves to that charity which " suffereth long 
and is kind." 

Frances E. Willard. 



December 20. 



359 



Let not mercy and truth forsake thee : bind them 
about thy neck : write them upon the table of thy 
heart : so shalt thou find favor and good understand- 
ing in the sight of God and man. — Prov. iii, 3, 4. 

He that speaketh truth showeth forth righteousness. 
— Prov. xii, 17. 

There is nothing so kingly as kindness, 
And nothing so royal as truth. 

Alice Cary. 

Human nature is not so much depraved as to 
hinder us from respecting Goodness in others, though 
we ourselves want it. This is the reason why we are 
so much charmed with the pretty prattle of children, 
and even the expressions of Pleasure or uneasiness 
in some part of the brute creation. They are without 
Artifice or Malice ; and we love Truth too well to re- 
sist the charms of Sincerity. 

Steele. 

The study of Truth is perpetually joined with the 
love of Virtue ; for there's no Virtue which derives 
not its original from Truth ; as, on the contrary, there 
is no Vice which has not its beginning from a Lie. 
Truth is the foundation of all knowledge, and the 
cement of all society. 

Casaubon. 

If the whole world should agree to speak nothing 
but truth, what an abridgment it would make of 
speech ! 

Washington Allston. 
The greatest friend of Truth is Time. 

Colton. 



360 



December 21, 



In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall 
direct thy paths. — Prov. iii, 6. 



If Christ should leave me where I am, 

Here I will stay. 
If He would have me as I am 

I say not nay. 
If He should bid me forward go 

Obe} 7 I must ; 
Although to me the way be dark 

Him I can trust. 
And if He grant me active work, 

I would be glad ; 
But though He bid me waiting be, 

I'll not be sad. 
And should He give me health and strength, 

They are His own ; 
And though a life of pain be mine, 

I'm not alone ; 
For though the fires around me burn, 

My God is near ; 
And with Him ever by my side, 

I've naught to fear. 
And if a life of constant pain 

Be His decree, 
Til work for Jesus where I am, 

And cheerful be. 
And so, whatever may befall 

This mortal frame, 
I'll trust forevermore 

Jehovah's name ; 
And resting in the Master's arms, 

I cannot fall, 
For Jesus Christ, our King, 

Is Lord of all. 



We only lose our way when we choose our own 
aim. Whoever seeks God's will alone finds it every- 
where, whithersoever God's providence leads him ; 
and so he never goes astray. True resignation, 
having no selfish path, and no aim at self-pleasing, 
goes always straight on as God pleases. 

Fenelon. 



December 22. 



361 



Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He 
shall strengthen thy heart : wait, I say, on the Lord. — 
Ps. xxvii, 14. 

God's plans, like lilies pure and white, unfold ; 

We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart, 
Time will reveal the stamens of pure gold, 

P. 

You want to be true, and you are trying to be. 
Learn two things — never to be discouraged because 
good things get on slowly here, and never fail daily 
to do that good which lies next your hand. Do not 
be in a hurry, but be diligent. Enter into that sub- 
lime patience of the Lord. 

George MacDonald. 

Keep close to duty. Never mind the future, if only 
you have peace of conscience ; if you feel yourself 
reconciled, and in harmony with the order of things. 
Be what you ought to be ; the rest is God's affair. It 
is for Him to know what is best. 

Henri Fr£d£ric Amiel. 

Let us stand by our duty, fearlessly and effectively. 

Abraham Lincoln. 



362 



December 23. 



At the commandment of the Lord the children of 
Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the 
Lord they pitched : as long as the cloud abode upon 
the tabernacle they rested in their tents. — Numbers 
ix, 18. 

Oh, give Thy servant patience to be still, 

And bear Thy will ; 
Courage to venture wholly on the arm 

That will not harm ; 
The wisdom that will never let me stray 

Out of my way ; 
The love that now afflicting, knoweth best 

When I should rest. 

J. M. Neale. 

There is no time lost while we are waiting God's 
time. It is as acceptable a piece of submission to the 
will of God to sit still contentedly when our lot re- 
quires it, as to work for Him when we are called to it. 
When the cloud was taken up, they removed, how 
comfortably soever they were encamped. The peo- 
ple being thus kept at a constant uncertainty, and 
having no time fixed for their stays and their re- 
moves, were obliged to hold themselves in constant 
readiness to march at a moment's warning. For the 
same reason we are kept uncertain as to the time of 
"putting off our earthly tabernacle," that we may be 
always ready to remove. As long and as far as the 
cloud moved, so long and so far they marched ; and 
where it abode, they pitched their tents about it, and 
God's tent under it. It is uncomfortable staying when 
God is departed ; but very safe and pleasant going 
when we see God before us, and resting where He 
appoints to rest. 

M. Henry. 



December 24. 



363 



The Lord shall guide thee continually. — Isa. lviii, i t. 

Do not sulk, and do not sigh, 
Tho' it seems in vain to try ; 

Work away ! 
* All the ends you cannot see ; 
Do your duty faithfully — 

Just obey ! 

When at length you come to know 
Why 'twas ordered thus and so, 

You will say : 
" Glad am I that, when to me 
All was dark as dark could be, . 
I could trust and cheerfully 

Just obey !" 

Anonymous. 

What is the use of your fretting and stewing about 
the present and about the future when God has prom- 
ised to take all your affairs in His hands, and manage 
them for the very best. Do you think He can do 
it? Or are you so conceited that you think it will be 
better if you take care of your own matters? Do 
you want to drive and insist upon God taking a back 
seat? " No," you say, "I want the Lord to be my 
leader and guide." Then you are going to be more 
than a conqueror. 

De Witt Talmage. 



3 6 4 



December 25. 



Serve the Lord with gladness : and come before 
His presence with a song. — Ps. c, 2. 

And if some things I do not ask 

In my cup of blessing be, 
I would have ray spirit filled the more 

With grateful love to Thee ; 
More careful — not to serve Thee much 

But to serve Thee perfectly. 

There are briers besetting ever}' path, 

Which call for patient care ; 
There is a cross in every lot, 

And an earnest need for prayer ; 
But a lowly heart that leans on Thee 

Is happy anywhere. 

Annie Bronte. 

There is no service like His that serves because He 
loves. 

Sir Philip Sidney. 

Let your kindness, your self-denial for others come 
before Him only, saying nothing about them. The 
best service is that which no one knows but Himself. 
Serve in your closet in praise and prayer, and your 
Father which seeth in secret shall reward you 
openly. 

Dr. Andrew Bonar. 



December 26. 



365 



I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy com- 
mandments. — Ps. cxix, 60. 

Thy youth is still upon thee ; use it well : 
No days so precious as the days of prime ! 

Count every hour a gem ; keep sentinel 
Against each robber of thy priceless time : 
Count every day misspent a failure and a crime. 

HORATIUS BONAR. 

A second is a mite of Time, 

Yet his small scythe ma)- be 
Reaping some thought or deed sublime 

To garner for Eternity. 

William H. Hayne. 

If you would make the best use of your time, look 
after the minutes. Keep a strict account of every 
hour of your time for a single week, setting down the 
exact manner in which every hour is spent, and see 
whether, when you come to review the record, you 
do not find it full of admonition and instruction. In 
this simple way one can readily understand the secret 
of his want of time. He will discover that he has 
given hours to idle talk, to indolence, and to incon- 
siderable trifles, which have yielded him neither profit 
nor pleasure. What is the remedy ? Arrange your 
work in the order of its comparative importance. 
Attend first to the things which are essential to be 
done, and let the unessentials take their turn after- 
ward. The difference in the amount of work accom- 
plished will be astonishing. 

Anonymous, 



3 66 



December 27. 



Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and 
cleanse me from my sin. — Ps. li, 2. 

Despise not little sins ; 

The gallant ship may sink, 
Though only drop by drop, 

The watery tide it drink. 

Richard C. Trench. 

A little sin, a very little sin, just a white lie, or a 
foul thought, an unkind word, a cruel act, gets inside 
of our souls ; we forget all about it. There is no 
appearance on the surface of the presence of any 
such foreigner in the soul, but believe me, that being 
there it will cause disturbance and pain, and the 
longer it is suffered to remain, then the more damage 
it will do. When we feel annoyed by the recollection 
of some doing in the day just done, oh ! I beg you, 
don't put it away from you with the thought and the 
word that it is nothing. But search deeper to find the 
foreign portion, the sin which is lodged in your heart, 
and don't sleep until you have told God all about it, 
and asked Him to wash it out in the precious blood 
that cleanses from all sin. Then the wound skin-deep 
will heal sweetly, the stinging recollection will all pass 
away, and then you may be sure that there is no fear 
of after trouble. 

Bishop Dudley. 



December 28. 



367 



For godly sorrow vvorketh repentance to salvation 
not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world 
worketh death. — II Cor. vii, to. 

In such a world, so thorny, and where none 
Finds happiness unblighted, or, if found, 
Without some thistly sorrow at his side, 
It seems the part of wisdom, and no sin 
Against the law of love, to measure lots 
With less distinguished than ourselves, that thus 
We may with patience bear our moderate ills, 
And sympathize with others suffering more. 

William Cowper. 

Be not impatient of God. Your* sorrow is a seed 
sown. Shall a seed come up in a day, or come up all 
in blossom when it does spring ? Let God plant your 
sorrows, and water and till them according to His 
own husbandry. By and by, when you gather their 
fruits, it will be time to judge His mercy. " Now no 
affliction for the present seemeth to be joyous, but 
grievous : nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the 
peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are 
exercised thereby." Trouble is like any other crop : 
it needs time for growing, for blossoming, and for 
fruiting. 

Henry Ward Beecher. 

Consider that sad accidents and a state of affliction 
is a school of virtue ; it reduces our spirits to sober- 
ness and our counsels to moderation : it corrects 
levity and interrupts the confidence of sinning. 

Jeremy Taylor. 

Sorrow is God's cure for selfishness. 

Horatius Bonar. 



3 68 



December 29. 



As for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered 
thee so to do. — Deut. xviii, 14. 

Chant we the pseans of sweet songs unsung ; 
Laud we the deeds left, for right's sake, undone ; 
Some failures are triumphs, when motives are weighed, 
Our heroes have laurels that never shall fade ; 
Common their fates were, and unknown they died, 
Yet each was a martyr, with hopes crucified. 

Edith K. Perry. 

Perhaps when the light of heaven shows us clearly 
the pitfalls and dangers of the earth-road that led us 
to the holy city, our sweetest songs of gratitude will 
be, not for the troubles we have conquered, but for 
those we have escaped. 

Amelia E. Barr. 

You are surprised at your imperfections. Why? 
I should infer from that that your self-knowledge is 
small. Surely, you might rather be astonished that 
you do not fall into more frequent and more grievous 
faults, and thank God for His upholding grace. 

Jean Nicolas Grou. 

We give thanks often with a tearful, doubtful voice, 
for our spiritual mercies positive ; but what an almost 
infinite field there is for mercies negative ! We can- 
not even imagine all that God has suffered us not to 
do, not to be. 

Frances R. Havergal. 

We ought to thank God daily for the sin we have 
not committed. 

F. W. Faber. 



December 30. 



3 6 9 



Trust in Him at all times. — Ps. lxii, 8. 

When things don't go to suit you 

And the world seems upside down, 
Don't waste your time in fretting, 

But drive away the frown. 
Since life is oft perplexing 

'Tis much the wisest plan 
To bear all trials bravely 

And smile whenever you can. 

Our irritability often has some physical cause ; but 
even nerve troubles are likely to have their origin in 
mental disturbances. If my heart were steadily fixed 
in faith and faithfulness, if my mind were habitually 
occupied with worthy subjects of thought, and if thus 
my cheer and calm of spirit were to operate day and 
night on brain and nerve and blood and muscle, 
should I easily fall into fevers and frets ? Should I 
easily be the victim of moods and tenses ? Would it 
be in the power of every excitable and disorderly 
person to infect me with excitement and disorder? 
No ; when the heart is fixed, trusting in God, it lies 
open toward heaven, and then the peace of heaven, 
the serenity of heaven, flows in like sunshine. 

Charles S. Ames. 

It is ever my thought that the most God-fearing 
man should be the most blithe man. 

Thomas Carlyle. 

24 



37° 



December 31. 



Whatsoever is commanded by the God of Heaven 
let it be diligently done. — Ezra vii, 23. 

We shall not pass this way again, 

Let duty be a pleasure ; 
Nor think it hard to bear the cross 

For Him who bore it for us. 
Each duty done, each victory won, 

The crown will be the brighter, 
For soon we '11 enter into rest 

Within the Heavenly City. 

Boston Courier. 
Take your duty and be strong in it, as God will 
make you strong. The harder it is, the stronger, in 
fact, you will be. Understand, also, that the great 
question here is, not what you will get, but what you 
will become. The greatest wealth you can ever get 
will be in yourself. Take your burdens and troubles 
and losses and wrongs, if come they must and will, as 
your opportunities, knowing that God has girded you 
for greater things than these. Oh ! to live out such a 
life as God appoints, how great a thing it is ! — to do 
the duties, make the sacrifices, bear the adversities, 
finish the plan, and then to say with Christ (who of us 
will be able ?) " It is finished ! " 

Horace Bushnell. 
Duties are ours, events are the Lord's. When we 
go to meddle with events and to hold a court (as it 
were) upon God's Providence, and to ask Him, " Why 
hast Thou done this ?" and " How will Thou do that ?" 
faith then begins to lose ground. We have nothing 
to do there. It is our part to follow Providence 
closely — never to go before it and not stay long after 
it — and if what we thus pursue should miscarry, it will 
neither be our sin nor our cross. 

Samuel Rutherford. 



INDEX OF AUTHORS 



OF THE 

POETICAL SELECTIONS 



PAGE 

Adam of St. Victor 66 

Addison, Joseph 32, 285 

Advocate, Sunday School 188, 317 

Allen, Elizabeth Akers 332 

Allison, Joy 86 

Ambrose, St 150, 178 



Anonymous . . 6, 7, 10, 14, 16, 17, 19, 23, 26, 31, 43, 
51, 52, 58, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 70, 78, 80, 81, 82, 
86, 88, 90, 98, 99, 105, 109, 114, 116, 117, 121, 
122, 124, 128, 141, 147, 148, 149, 155, 157, 159, 
161, 164, 168, 169, 173, 174, 184, 189, 209, 210, 

211, 212, 215, 217, 219, 221, 224, 225, 226, 231, 

235, 237, 238, 239, 243, 244, 250, 255, 265, 27I, 

273, 274, 280, 283, 284, 287, 29O, 29I, 292, 293, 

296, 302, 307, 319, 320, 322, 323, 34O, 344, 35O, 



353, 354, 358 ; 359, 3^3, 3^9- 

Arnold, Edwin . . . . . . 188, 355 

Auber, Harriet 201 

Banner, The . , 95 

Barford . . . . . . 205 

Barr, Lillie E. ............... . 8 

Barton, Bernard 335 

Beller 202 



37i 



372 



Index. 







PAGE 
I3 


Bogatzski, Karl Heinrich von 




126 




i8, 


306 




I3°> 


365 






203 






95 






282 






35 2 






364 






205 






55 


Browning, Elizabeth Barrett . 




162 






277 






3 I 3 






312 






229 






- ^ 






264 






176 




165, 195, 316, 35 6 > 


359 






27 






175 






44 


Changed Cross, From the . 




216 






57 






347 






300 




....... 127 


144 






266 


Companion, The Youth's . . 


22, 242, 


346 






68 



Index. 



373 



PAGE 

Courier. Boston 336. 370 

Cowper, William . . ... 73, 97, 107, 136, 145. 152, 198, 

351, 367 

Crofts, G. W 172 

Cumberland 104 

Daniel, Samuel 171 

Dickinson, Mary Lowe 199, 260 

Doddridge. Philip 298 

Dodge, Man- Mapes 194 

Dorr, Julia C. R 118 

Dwight, John S 270 

Edmeston, James . 89 

Eliot, George 233 

Ellerton, John 111 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo 232 

Evans, Albert E 135 

Faber 1 1, 84 

Farningham. Marianne 303 

Flemming, Paul 53, 327 

Francke, A. H 120 

Gay 104, 236, 346 

Gallagher, W. D. 40 

Gaskell, Wm 329 

Gedicke, L - 103 

Gellert, C. F 77 

Gerhardt, P. . . . J92, 196 

German, From the 133, 268 

Gill, T. H 228 

Gilmore, J. H 91 



374 



Index. 



PAGE 

Gladden, Washington 200 

Goethe, J. Wolfgang von 46, 64 

Golden Days 29 

Guthrie, Dr 279 

Hamilton, Anna E 305 

Harper's Young People 190 

Harris, C. W 321 

Havergal, Frances Ridley . . 5, 62, 241, 247, 272, 291, 

295, 308, 3^8, 326 

Hayes, Samuel 183 

Hayne, Wm. H 365 

Haywood, John 78 

Heerman, Johann 193 

Herbert, George 85, 123, 187, 253, 262 

Herrick, Robert 316 

Higgins 76 

Hodges, D. F 7 2 

Holford, Mrs. ... ... 79 

Hood, Thomas 265 

Horace, Francis' trans 54 

Home .100 

Houghton, Lord 206 

Household, The 154, 3°9 

Housekeeping, Good *53 

Independent, The 278 

Ingelow, Jean 7 1 * l66 > 2 57 

Ingersoll, Adele R . . 3° 

Intelligencer, Christian 254 

Irons 12 



Index. 



375 



PAGE 

Jackson, R. W 154 

Jonson, Ben 143, 236 

Juvenal, Gifford's . . 233 

Keble, John 47, 83, 191, 304, 338 

Kemble, Frances A 246 

Ken, Thomas 341 

Key, Francis S 137, 223 

Kimball, H. M 156, 261 

Kingsley, Charles 275 

Knight, E. A. L 21 

Larcom, Lucy 37 

Layard, CP 170 

Leroy, S. R 93 

Littell's Living Age 252 

Longfellow, H. W 97, 101, 106, 299 

Lowell, James Russell ...... 9, 213, 258, 282 

Lyra, Anglicana 24 

Lyte, H. F. . . . 25 

Marah 259 

Massinger 138 

Menander 267 

Meredith, Owen 245 

Middleton, Thomas 208 

Miller, Joaquin 45 

Milton, John 269, 345 

Montgomery, James .... .125,132,185,227,300 

Moore, Thomas 132 

More, Hannah no 

Murray, Charlotte 220, 310 



376 



Index. 



Neale, J. M 


PAGE 

362 




153 


Newman, J. H 


108 


O'Reilly, John Boyle . . . 


218 


Orrerv, Lord 


• -.54 




28 


P. 


361 


P. T 


35 


Palmer, H. R. . 




Palmer, Ray 


• ■ • 75 


Perrv Fdith K 




Pfeiffer, Emily 




Pollard, Josephine .... 


276 


Pollok Robert 




Pone Alexander 


T O/l T 1 8 9 O O 


Procter Adelaide A 


I02 HQ 120 2Q1 111 




183, 311 


Read, Thomas Buchanan . 






39 


Rhyme, Old 










48 


Rowe . . . 






l8o 


Sangster, Margaret E. . . 








Schmolck, B 


94 


Scollard, Clinton 


. * . . 1 ... mm .74 



Index. 377 



PAGE 

Seymour, C 288 

Shakespeare .... .44,79,101,142,178,202,204, 

233, 248, 286, 313, 334 

Sherman, F. D 60 

Shirly 87 

Smart, Alexander 249 

Smith, Mrs. E. Oakes 257 

Smith, Horace 177 

Soldier, From The Young Christian 294 

Somerville 50 

Southey, Robert 324 

Southwell 33 

Spencer, Edmund 315 

Spitta, C.J.P 333 

Stephen, of St. Sabbas 240 

Stillingfleet 314 

Stone, S. J 250 

Strong, Phillip Burroughs 301 

Suckling 248 

Taylor, Bayard , ...181 

Tennyson, Alfred . 76, 113, 245, 290 

Tersteegen, G 42, 348 

Trench, Richard Chenevix 38,271,366 

Trowbridge 331 

Upham, T. C 163 

Van Cleve, John S 314 

Vere, Aubrey de 299 

Waller, Edmund 263 



378 



Index. 



PAGE 

Waring, Anna L 134 

Warner, Anna B 20 

Webster, John 267 

W.E. . . . . . . . 92 

Weekly, Baptist 251 

Weiszel, George 139 

Wesley, Charles 69, 96, 186, 214, 256 

Whittier, John Greenleaf .... 140, 182, 195, 204, 

289, 297, 304, 325, 330, 343, 345 
Wilcox, Ella Wheeler .... 115, 151, 230, 349, 357 

Wordsworth, William 186, 234 

World, The Children's 197 



Young, Edward 



33, 34, 87, 146, 207, 303 



INDEX OF AUTHORS 



OF THE 

PROSE SELECTIONS 



PAGE 

Addison .... . . 76, 90, 285 

Adora, Catherine 211 

Alcott, Louisa M 80, 194, 305, 331 

Alexander, J 122 

Alexander, J.W 317 

Alford, Dean ...145 

Allston, Washington 125, 359 

Ames, Charles S 369 

Ames, Fisher 328 

Amiel, Henri Frederic . . 77, 93, 158, 283, 310, 361 

Andrews, Dr. T. L 241 

Anna, or Passages from Home Life 336 



Anonymous . . 9, 40, 43, 51, 58, 63, 70, 72, 80, 82, 83, 
96,98, 112, 117, 118, 130, 146, 148, 149, 150, 184, 
189, 192, 193, 217, 218, 219, 223, 235, 246, 255, 
258, 260, 275, 276, 278, 287, 307, 322, 323, 329, 
330, 340. 341, 342, 344, 347, 353. 365 



Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius . . . 22S, 291, 309, 332 

Arabic 54 

Aristotle 49 

" Atlas," London 48 

Atterbury 65, 126 

Auerbach, Berthold 67 

379 



380 Index. 



PAGE 

Augustine, St 112, 155 

Aurelius, Marcus 30 

Bacon, Lord 257, 279 

Balloe, Hosea 9 

Barnes, Albert 115 

Barr, Amelia E 368 

Beecher, Henry Ward 61, 196, 367 

Behmen 297 

Bethune, G. W 163 

Beveridge, William 262 

Bidbanbadi, The 108 

Blair, Hugh 87 

Blair, John 257 

Boerhaave, Hermann 202 

Boethius 158 

Bogatzky, Karl H 273 

Boiste 320 

Bonar, Dr. Andrew . 364 

Bonar, Horatius 367 

Boston, T 196 

Bovee 9, 30, 67 

Bowdler, Thomas 201 

Bowes 203 

Boyd, Robert 34 

Brent, C. H 305 

Brodie, Sir Benjamin 85 

Brooke, Stopford A 87, 94, 265 

Brooks, Phillips . . . 206, 254 

Brown, Dr. G. W 99 

Brown, J. B 293 

Browne, Sir Thomas 222, 334 



Index. 



381 



PAGE 

Buddha 56 

Bulwer 49 

Bulwer-Lytton 236 

Bunyan, John 214, 243, 248 

Burke 224 

Burritt, Elihu 10, 188 

Bushnell, Horace . 86, 128, 134, 140, 174, 233, 250, 370 

Butler, Joseph 327 

Buxton, Charles, 129 

Carey, William 177 

Carlyle, Thomas . . 28, 50, 64, 114, 209, 247, 339, 369 

Carter, T. T 36, 131 

Casaubon 359 

Cato 355 

Cecil, R 135, 203, 210, 303 

Century, The 76 

Cervantes, Michael 285 

Chalmers, Thomas 19 

Channing, Wm; E 18, 277, 284, 287, 319 

Chapin, Stephen 271 

Charles, Elizabeth 55 

Charron 218 

Chesterfield, Lord 173, 355 

Childs, L. Maria 23, 41 

Chinese 66, 236 

Christian's Pocket-book, . 25 

Church, The Living 7 198, 237 

Cicero . . 34, 76, 203, 205, 279, 294 

Clarke, James Freeman 11, 113, 352 

Collyer, Robert 302 

Colton, C. C 50, 96, 138, 236, 359 



3^2 



Index. 



PAGE 

Confucius 72, 205 

Cotton, Lynch 208, 283 

Cowper, William 97 

Cradock, John .... . . 312 

Croly, George 300 

Cross, Joseph 81, 253 

Cross, The Silver 271 

Cumming, John - 57 

Cuyler, Theodore L 331 



Dacier, Andre 47 

Davy, Sir Humphry 350 

Dekker, Thomas 205 

De Renty 128 

Dick, Thomas 85 

Dickens, Charles 147 

Disraeli 344 

Doane, Bishop 173 

Downhame, John 31 

Drummond, Henry . . 22, 41, 71. 104, 150. 151, 156, 
165. 166. 250. 256. 267. 274, 310. 358 

Dudley, Bishop 366 

Dwight 147 



Edwards, Jonathan 32, no, 242 

Eliot, George 43, 103. 195. 245. 296 

Ellis, James V 176 

Ellis, Mrs 236 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo . 27, ioi. 117, 143, 246. 264, 

313, 314 

Ennies. Charles P 2.^0 



Index, 



3S3 



PAGE 

Epictetus 140. 144. 172 

" Esek, Uncle " 10 1 

Evans, J. H 45 

Ewing, Juliana H 220 

Faber, F. W 41. 71. 254. 326. 336, 36S 

Farrar, F. \Y 141. 1S4, 201, 265 

Fielding 50 

Feisi 125 

Felix, M. Minucius 279 

Feltham. Owen " . . . . 263, 266 

Fenelon, 22. 47. 132, 152. 157, 1S2. 229, 261. 33S. 

354, 3^0 

Fichte, Johann Gottlieb 46 

Flavel, John 351 

Fox, George 268 

From the French 15, 90 

Franklin 313 

Fuller 155 

Fuller, Margaret - 334 

Fuller, Thomas 312 

Gannett. \V. C 7, 303 

Gasparin, Countess de 257 

Gladstone. YV. E 114. 244 

Goethe, J. YV. von 173 

Gold Dust . ... 24, 37. 116. 152. 242, 269. 290. 356 

Gough . 40 

Gouldburn, Edward Meyrick 73 

Gray 236 

Greaves, J. P 35, 247 

Grou, lean Nicolas .... 20. 77. i7Q. 270. 20;. ;68 



384 Index. 



PAGE 

Guerin, Eugenie de 348 

Guyon, Madam 343, 349 

Hale, Edward Everett 140 

Hall, A. C. A 93, 308 

Hall, Joseph 202 

Hall, Robert 231, 283 

Hall, Timothy (Bishop of Oxford) . . ... 123, 156 

Hamilton, Gail 23 

Hare, Augustus 256 

Hare, J. C. and A. W 54 

Hare, Maria 216 

Hardy, A. S 272, 296 

Havergal, F. R 95, 368 

Haweis, H. R 208 

Helps, Arthur 290 

Henry, Matthew 285, 362 

Herbert, George 205 

Hervey, James 181 

Hitchcock, Boswell Dwight 320 

Holland, J. G 185 

Holmes, Oliver Wendell 339 

Home, Christian 121, 335 

Hooper, Joseph 204 

Hopkins, Ezekiel . 290 

Horace . 138 

Horn, Ram's 187, 190 

Home, Bishop 96, 248 

Household, The 30, 145 

Howard, John 198 

Hubbard, G. H 146 

Hugo, Victor 352 



Index. 385 



PAGE 

Humboldt, William von 180, 325 

Hume 264 

Huntington, Bishop 37 

Inter-Ocean 245 

Irving 63 

Irving, Edward 33 

James, John Angell 263 

Jerome, Jerome K 260 

Jerrold .313 

Johnson, Dr. Samuel 311, 352 

Jones, Jenkin Lloyd 255 

Jonson, Ben 280 

Keary, Annie 42 

Keble, John 84 

Keen, Sum Paon 266 

Kelty, M. A 1 73, 259 

Kempis, Thomas a 131, 155, 216 

Kingsley, Charles 10, 19, 170 

Knox-Little, W. J 79 

Koran, The 273 

La Bruyere 13, 100, 251 

Latimer, Hugh 65 

Lavater, Johann Gaspar 46, 100 

Law, William . . 124, 139, 158, 180, 186, 191, 321, 347 

Leighton (Coleridge, Aids) 257 

Leighton, Robert ... 5, 44, 5 6 > 88 > 136, 281, 298,345 

Lewes, George Henry 316 

Liddon, Canon 74 

Lincoln, Abraham . 78, 361 

25 



\ 



386 Index. 





PAGE 




• • 235 


Longfellow, H. W 


........ 86 




274, 309 




177 




. 297 


Maccoll Dr 


. xi z 


McCosh Tames 


12 182 


MacDonald Creor^re xo 


iqc; 22^ 318 x^6 x6i 

^^0> D-l^j »jO w > ± 


MacDuff, Dr 





MrKenzie Alexander 


21 


Maclaren Alex 


264 


Macmillan, Hugh 


26^ 


Magazine, Arthur's Home 


, 160 


Mahomet 


I C X , X ZO 




2X 


Man n i n 0- H E 


1 cn, iq6. 228 




.208 


Marti neau 


. . . T6l, XlS, 324, X2K 


Mason Tohn , 


280 




. 208 




224 


Mavo W S 


X20 


Molinos, M 


66, xxx 


Monnd 


.101; 


Mntmpll Harriet 


2C4. 




202 




126 




83, 347 




. 351 











Index. 



387 



PAGE 

Miiller, Max 234 

Munger, Theodore T 6S 

N.,L.E 127 

Xabb 294 

Newman, J. H 164, 239 

Xorthend, Charles . . 265 

Norton, John N 8, 27, 168, 177 

O'Reilly, John Boyle 67 

Osborne, Fr ... 102 

Osgood, Samuel 83 

Ovid 104 

Paley 9 

Parker, Theodore 29, 75, 185, 232 

Parkes, Mrs 154 

Parton . 28 

Pascal, Blaise 346 

Patrick, Simon 289 

Pearson, Hugh Nicholas 301 

Peel, Sir Robert 36 

Penington, 1 144 

Petrarch 257, 343 

Plato 10 

Plutarch 89 

Pollard, Josephine • 353 

Pond, Enoch 147 

Porter, Anna Maria 295 

Porter, Jane 251 

Porter, Rose 91, 137, 203 

Potter, Bishop 193 



3 88 



Index. 



PAGE 

Power, Philip Bennett 101 

Powers, Horatio N. 16, 269 

Powerscourt, Lady 183 

Prentiss, Elizabeth 332 

Preyere, Madame de . . . . 241 

Punshon, Morley . 263 

Pusey, E. B. . . 35, 53, 129, 151, 186, 209, 212, 221, 355 
Pythagoras 211,298 

Quarles, Francis 176, 202, 262 

Quintillian 265 

R., W. H 14 

Raleigh 137 

Reed, Andrew 106 

Richardson, B. W 178 

Richter, Jean Paul 194 

Rivarol .78 

Robertson, F. W. . . . 9, 22, 103, 133, 143, 227, 244, 

252, 255, 272, 292, 348 

Robinson, Ralph 200 

Rochefoucauld 143 

Rojas 266 

Ruskin, John 70, 116, 288, 307, 339, 357 

Rutherford, S 3 I 9 > 37° 

Ryder, A. H 222 

S., Mrs. H. W 92, 197, 246, 294 

Sales, Francis de 26, 120, 256, 261 

Sallust . . . 7 6 

Salter, Richard 207 

Sanderson, Bishop 107 



Index. 



389 



Savage M T 


PA G K 
I89 


Saville .... 


28 


Schiller 


10 c. 


Schimmelpenninck, M. A. . . 


6q, 34.1 


Scott, T 


. 6 


Scupoli, L 


. . ... ... . ^17 


Seeker, Wm 


. 21 X 


Secret of Success 


28 


Seneca . . •. 15, 90, too, 138 


, IJ.Q, IQO, 20^, 21s, 282 


Sew ell 


7.77 


Sibbes, R 


2s, l8l, ^d8 


Sidney Sir Philip 


TOT 2^>8 l6>± 


Shaftesbury . 


27Q 


Sherlock, Thomas 


178 


Smith, Sidney 


IO, 2sl 


Smyth Newman 


1AO 


Sophocles 


27Q 


South, Dr. Robert .... 


1^6 20^ 


Spencer Herbert 


206 


Sourceon 


TOfS TOR 911 


Stanlev Arthur Penrhvn 


TQ7 2lR lAd ?8 1 


Star New York 


911 717 


Stpplp 


i c n 


Stprnp 


Oil 


Stoddard \V P 


n 1 01c 


Stowe, Mrs. Harriet Beecher 


02 






St. Pierre, Bernardin .... 


285 


Street . 


.vV 1 ."'."'.' vV.'. 225 


Swetchine, Madame .... 


283,331 


Swift . . . . 


317 




......... 13 



39° 



Index. 



PAGE 

Tacitus 40 

Talbot, Catherine 169 

Talmage, De Witt 363 

Talmud, tr. Aboth 328 

Tauler, John 162, 172 

Taylor ioS 

Taylor, Jeremy .... 171, 175, 236, 262, 267, 367 

Taylor, W. M 52, 306 

Tersteegen, G 343 

Thackeray, William Makepeace . . 78, 194, 304, 349 

Tholuck 95, 163 

Thorn, J. H 39, 59, 119, 213 

Thomas, David 312 

Thornton, H 45 

Thorold 62, 105 

Tillotson 33, 267 

Todd 150 

Trench, Archbishop .111, 132, 142, 275 

Tribune, New York 60. 63 

Trumbull 49 

Try on, Thomas 226 

Tucker . . ^ 280 



Upham, T. C 69, 88, 11 1, 345 

Van Dyke, Henry 153 

Van Dyke, Henry J 3°° 

Vaughan, C. J 286 

Vaughan, Robert Alfred 282 



Wallace, John Aikman 
Walton, Isaak . . . . 



227 
253 



Index. 



39* 



PAGE 

Ward, Samuel 263 

Ware, Henry, Jr 295 

Watts, Isaac 205 

Washington, George . . . . . . . . . 54, 202, 233 

Webster, Daniel 15 

Westcott, Canon 38, 80, 199 

What Wins 76 

Whitney, Adeline D. T 156 

Wilkerson, G. H 249 

Willard, F. E 358 

Winslow, Octavius 123 

Wirt, Wm 14, 167 

Woolman, John 129, 297, 309, 354 

Wordsworth, Wm 23 

World, Baltimore 217 

Young, Edward 54 

Young, Matthew 207 

Youth's Companion 38, 48, 299 



